A Blessing of the Cursed
by ShiroiMatsu
Summary: AU “What kind of medicines did you use? To have healed me so fast?” he growled. “Witchery?” He felt almost sorry for accusing such of this beauty, but it was engraved into his nature now, from years of Aizu war. SanoMegumi
1. Scroll One

Disclaimer: All Rurouni Kenshin characters rest forever (in peace ^^ can't help adding that…) in the very capable hands of Nobuhiro Watsuki.

**~ Blessing of the Cursed ~ **

~ a rurouni kenshin fanfic ~ 

**~Scroll One~**

Rumor has it that one of them survived the fire. Despite that Aizu's best samurai blocked all possible escape routes, rumor has it that one of them managed to get out and abscond away into the night. The Head Priest had said that if they were all rid of from this world, the land of Aizu would be saved from its slow demise. Flowers would once again bloom with the colors of the rainbow, children would again laugh and play with carefree ease, the sun would shine warmly from a perfect blue sky, and Kami would look upon Aizu with favor. But no sign of that has yet to come, even several years after the fire that should have finished them. One of them must have escaped. The Shadow Fox line continues to exist into this world. For now the samurai of other lands have begun to get bolder, trespassing further and further within the borders of Aizu. They plunder, murder, rape, and abuse this land, slowly destroying it. Aizu's samurai are tiring. They cannot continue to defend the land of Aizu like this. The last fox must be rid of. All chances of their return in numbers must be exterminated. Before all of Aizu is dragged down to Hell with those damned kitsune spirits. 

~*~

Sagara Sanosuke gritted his teeth against the biting knives that whipped around his lanky figure as he forced his numb feet to rise and plunge into the freezing snow. Up and down right, up and down left, one foot in front of the other. He swayed slightly with each painful step he took, the howling wind pushing against him. Sanosuke hugged himself, rubbing his arms vigorously in a useless attempt to warm himself. His worn battle armor did little to help, if not encumbering the Aizu samurai's weary movement even more. Had Sanosuke been at a much lower level of elevation, his wounds would still be flowing freely, rather than be plugged up by icy patches of half frozen blood that rubbed uncomfortably against his tender skin. That is, the few parts of him that could still even acknowledge discomfort at all. Sanosuke look down towards his feet, an unconscious effort to ensure that his feet were still attached to his long legs and had not fallen off to end up lying somewhere unnoticed. He could barely discern them among the thick white flurries as it is. He wasn't even going to think about finding the mountain path he had set to follow hours before, taken over by a blind panic while trying to escape from the overwhelming number of invading samurai over Aizu's North border. Hopefully, his other two comrades were faring better than himself, having all scattered to different directions. The Aizu samurai heaved a great disappointed sigh that only served to gather more icy crystals upon the tip of his prominent nose. Up and down right, up and down left, up and down right, up and down left…

"_What's the friggin' point of this anyways?_" Sanosuke mentally grumbled to himself. He really didn't want to find out how his vocal chords have fared in this lovely snowy wonderland. Sanosuke scanned the white expanse around him, squinting through the flying snowflakes. When the snow fell fast and hard, he could hardly see his own hands in front of his face. When there was a lull, there was nothing to see but an endless plane of snow. Either way, there was no shelter from the bitter cold. The lonely yips and yaps of some kind of carnivorous creature carried to Sanosuke's ears upon the battering currents of the wind. He shivered, pushing away the unwelcome fantasies of turning into a human ice-cream bar for wolves to feed on. 

"_Just keep walking buddy,_" Sanosuke told himself. "_Someday you'll reach the end of the earth_." Heh. Sanosuke cracked a wry smile, not even wincing when his bottom lip split open. A trail of crimson red trickled down his chin, soon turning into a thin line of dark brown. He drew his broad shoulders up into a highly exaggerated and permanent shrug, his armor's shoulder pads close enough to almost brush the stiff spikes of brown hair that angled out in every which way from his nape. Up and down right, up and down left, up and down - - - 

"What the f*%#?!" Sano suddenly yelped out hoarsely as the ground under his right foot gave way with a resounding crack. Too far into his next step, the half frozen Aizu samurai fell. 

THWUMP!!!

Sanosuke groaned. Just what his battle worn body needed. He gingerly raised his head, studying the slanted rafter that he had half rolled half bounced along to the hard wooden floor.

Wooden floor?

Elatedly, Sanosuke dragged himself to a sitting position, leaning against a nearby pole for support. His eyesight gradually adjusted to the semi-darkness as he sat there, hardly able to believe that he had found shelter. Soon Sanosuke could pick out the dusty interior of an abandoned temple. Apparently, he had walked upon a weak spot on the temple roof and crashed though, leaving quite the mess right in front of the temple's majestic statue of Buddha.

"I'll clean that up as soon I'm able, Kami-sama!" Sanosuke promised in a soft voice to the statue. After all, shelter from an inevitable cold and lonely death just upped out of nowhere. He offered a quick heartfelt prayer to the statue and shuffled awkwardly towards the hallway dotted with rooms in the back of the shrine. In one of the smaller dorm rooms, he found a trunk packed with useful items. From it, Sanosuke drew a half full jar of salve and an old monk robe/pants set that could actually stand a few more years use. Without a moment's hesitance, the warrior rapidly rid himself of his cold armor, casting it aside with a dull clank. After brushing away the icy crystals that clung to his cold body, Sanosuke dabbed generous amounts of the yellowish and waxy salve upon his wounds. Without the whipping bite of the snowstorm wind or the snow, he could already feel the slight tingling that marked the return of body heat and sense of touch. The salve stung upon his wounds, quickly stilling the renewed flow of life's blood. As Sanosuke's body pulled back from its frozen state, he began to shiver violently, his teeth clacking together in an almost comical manner. 

"G-glad to know t-that m-my bod-dy decci-d-ded to reg-gain some heat-t n-n-now!" Sanosuke grinned despite his chattering teeth. For the lack anything else better for bandages, he ripped off thick strips of fabric from the bottom of the light blue robe. After deftly wrapping up most of his torso and long limbs, Sanosuke slipped on the monk's attire. Ignoring the fact that the pants only went down to mid-calf on him or that the robe hardly reached his hips after having so many strips torn from its hemming, Sanosuke searched the other dorm rooms. He walked quickly from room to room in search of as many blankets as he could find, now being able to feel the pressing chill in the air. Returning to the small room where he discovered the trunk, Sanosuke sat down with a small sigh into the old futon, completely bundled up with his numerous quilts. He sat in silence for several moments, before allowing an enormous yawn to pry open his jaws. Blinking owlishly, Sanosuke hugged the blankets around himself tighter and flopped over on the futon. Laying on one side and curled in a half fetal position in order for the small futon to accommodate his tall frame, he yawned again. The eerie whistling of the wind outside nor the echoes along the empty wooden halls of the temple affected the battle worn Sagara Sanosuke. As soon as he shifted to a comfortable position on the lumpy futon, his eyes closed to peaceful slumber. A small happy grin graced his boyish face.   

~*~

Not far outside the temple, a small white creature struggled against the snowstorm. With each painfully slow step, it swayed even more. Cognizant of its waning state, it fought its way to the roots of a nearby tree. Digging frantically with its small white paws, it created a small crater partly protected from the heartless chill beneath the tree's roots. It drew itself into a small ball of fur, wrapping its bushy white tail around to brush its black little nose, and waited.

~*~

"Ugh! My eyes!" Sanosuke growled as he raised a bandaged hand to block the blinding rays of the sun that streamed through the tattered paper window. He rolled over, pulling his numerous blankets over his head. His cocoon of warm fabrics had Sanosuke toasty warm, and frankly, he didn't want to get up and face the bitter cold air. However, sleep decided to side with the sun and evade Sanosuke. After tossing and turning for several minutes, he finally gave up and sat up gingerly, spitting out a few rather colorful words in the process. He walked jerkily out the dorm room, particularly aware of the shoots of pains stemming from his bodily injuries. To make things worse, his stomach was complaining loudly, after nearly a day and a half of negligence. 

"Wonder where's the kitchen?" Sanosuke grumbled to himself as he entered the room where he had crashed in from the roof the day before. Most of the snow had melted away, leaving just a large pile of broken timber. The tall samurai picked his way through the pile until he reached the other side. There, he followed another hallway's stretch of rooms. The very last room at the end of the hallway opened to a small and dingy gray room, with the barest necessities to cook something edible. A half full threadbare bag of stale and bug-ridden rice slumped pitifully in the corner, the only thing that decorated the dusty shelves of the kitchen. After a quick look under the stove-like kitchen appliance that the only pot sat upon, Sanosuke turned heel and left the room with an annoyed growl. He needed firewood, of all things.

Sanosuke strode purposefully yet carefully across the main room of the small temple, picking his way through the rubble pile of wood quickly. Due to temperature differences inside and outside the temple, the snow had melted overnight, rendering the broken wood much too wet to be of any use as firewood. He paused in front of what he figured must be the door out of the temple, pulling the blanket he had temporarily adopted as an overcoat closer to his body. Sure that he could keep the blanket secure with just one hand, Sanosuke lifted the bolt lock and pushed open the heavy wooden doors. An almost painfully cold wave washed over him as he stepped outside.

"My eyes…" Sanosuke grumbled, raising his free hand against the white glare of the sun's harsh rays reflected off a thousand fallen crystals. He lowered his head and stepped out into the snow covered temple courtyard. The snow was quite thick, almost reaching up to his knees. After plodding just a few steps further into the spacious courtyard, Sanosuke decided the rickety pines lining the ancient yet sturdy courtyard walls will do just fine. Nothing short of some sort of a miracle will convince him to swim through this ocean of freezing snow and cover more distance than absolutely necessary. Even for firewood.

Sanosuke approached the closest tree, tugging on one of its lower branches until it snapped off. Repeating thus action again and again, he soon left the pine inadequately bare. When he shook the cold branches to rid them of the heavy snow, Sanosuke found that so old were these pines, that the trademark evergreen needles had long fallen away. With a slight shrug, he tucked the large bundle of sticks under his free arm. All this, Sanosuke managed to accomplish with just one arm. He licked his lips at the thought of the warm bowls of rice waiting for him back inside the temple and turned towards his oasis in this pale desert. As he turned, Sanosuke plunged his foot into a slight mound of snow directly underneath the ancient evergreen he had harvested firewood from, encountering something unerringly soft and yielding with his foot. Something definitely not snow. 

With an unbalanced hop, Sanosuke withdrew his foot from the pile, having only engulfed his foot within the mound. He stared at his footprint with suspicion, not exactly in the best of moods to suddenly discover a frozen corpse of some sort. After several moments of indecision, he glared at the mound, and then kicked it. The powdery snow shifted away, revealing the blurry round shape of a small fox still curled against the cold. The Aizu samurai frowned as he made to cover back up the poor thing with his foot, this time taking much more care. The fine white grains stuck to the fur well, and Sanosuke easily smoothed the snow over the small fox, soon leaving only its tiny black nose to sight. He gently nudged some snow to cover the little black nose as well and turned back to the temple, his enthusiasm for his breakfast far more lacking than minutes before.

Chie!

Sanosuke whirled around, staring at the once again revealed little nose in stupor. It _sneezed_. Breaking into an amused grin, he immediately made his way back into the temple and dropped off his load of branches. Grabbing another blanket, Sanosuke sauntered back outside.

"You're one damned lucky little foxy!" Sanosuke chuckled as he brushed away the snow and gathered the little ball of fur up into his spare blanket to take inside. 

~*~

**~Scroll One End~**

AN: This is just a sweet little S/M romance with a "Little Mermaid" twist. Not supposed to span too many chapters, but knowing good ol' redundant me, I'll make it something horribly lengthy. And even 5 pages into this fic, there's still nothing much of interest. But please do bear with me. Review and tell me what you think of everything so far! I'm thinking about 5 reviews might convince me to update again.

P.S.: Heh, how fitting to have a fic with so much snow in it when my penname means "White Pine" in Japanese. Not intentional though ^^.   

(This is actually the revised version…why? Just a few words that were in sore need to be included. As in this sentence:

"Heh. Sanosuke cracked a wry smile, not even wincing when his bottom [lip] split open."

"Lip" was the added word; read the sentence without the word…@_@)  


	2. Scroll Two

Disclaimer: Crickets may chirp, camels may spit, and sure, hippos may be rather smelly creatures, but that doesn't mean I claim any ownership of Rurouni Kenshin…

NOTE: Aizu is NOT a city in Japan in my story. It is the name of a separate kingdom. This is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE fic, although you may find many things similar with Nubohiro Watsuki's world.

**~ Blessing of the Cursed ~ **

~ a rurouni kenshin fanfic ~ 

**~Scroll Two~**

"_It's so warm…_" Megumi hazily thought as she slowly regained consciousness. She really didn't know what warmth was anymore, having spent so long in these snowy mountains. That enormous snowstorm had caught her unawares. Megumi slowly opened her eyes. And blinked again. But there was no difference, despite that she felt that her eyes were wide open. Darkness still surrounded her. Something was wrapped around her, limiting her movement. Suddenly, the warmth she was so comfortably bathed in seemed much too hot, surrounding her in a suffocating embrace. It was just like that fire so long ago, so painfully hot, smothering her breath. Megumi began to struggle wildly against her bonds, barking and whimpering fearfully. She tore at the stuff around her with her sharp little teeth, writhing her lithe body like that of a rabid creature. No, NO, **NO!** Not this again! It was too warm, too hot, burning painfully…

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! How did you get yourself all tangled up like this?" a deep human male's voice asked as strong hands gripped her and took away her asphyxiating darkness. Megumi stopped struggling as fresh light and cool air rushed to her face, looking dazedly up at the man holding her. Spiky brown hair topped his head, barely tamed by a red bandana. Deep brown eyes studied her curiously, set over a straight prominent nose and a mouth made for lopsided grins. He had a sharp brow and defined cheekbones, as well as a firm stubborn chin, yet all this was softened to boyishly handsome features by the curve of his tanned cheeks. Megumi blinked away her disoriented state, looking away from him to this strange forest clearing she was in. The wood was unusually smooth and even, the clearing strangely squareish. The sky was blocked away by odd horizontal tree trunks. There was too much light to be a den of some sort. No…it was a human home. The others have spoken of such structures. Megumi then looked to the ground, glancing at the human nest and pile of armor to one side on the even dark floor.

The little fox stiffened.

She could recognize the badge fixed upon the armor even a mile away. The badge of an Aizu samurai. They were coming after her again. Snarling, Megumi bared her sharp white teeth at the brown haired man. 

"What the --?" he uttered as Megumi turned her head to one side. 

"Fuck!!!" he roared as she sank her fangs one of the bandaged hands he used to hold her. Dropping Megumi to the ground, he cradled his injured hand. She landed gracefully on the ground and bared her fangs at the tall Aizu samurai again, her white haunches raised. The soft snowy fur along the entirety of her back stood on an end.

"You little piece of shit!" the samurai yelled at Megumi as she trotted over to his discarded armor. "What the hell didja do that for, I save your life for Kami's sakes!" The little white fox ignored him with a haughty sniff of her delicate nose and promptly tore the Aizu badge from the fabric of the battle gear, growling as she chewed it hatefully to a small ball of wasted threads.

"Hey~! Come back here, stupid kitsune! What are you doing to my badge?!" the man growled as he reached to pick the little fox up. Megumi turned slanted cinnamon eyes full of loathing to the samurai, burning with hateful flames. The man faltered, surprised at the degree of intelligence and pain compressed within the amber orbs. Seizing the opportunity of the Aizu samurai's shock, Megumi darted out the room, white bushy tail brandished mockingly at the man. 

Despite her head start, the brown haired man soon jerked out of his stupor and raced after the impudent little fox quite angrily. His long legs quickly overtook her much shorter ones. Storming up to her, he picked Megumi up by the scruff of her neck.

"_I am one dead fox…_" Megumi thought. "_But I'm taking at least one of his hands with me!_" The fiery little kitsune snarled, pulling back her lip menacingly and snapped at the hand that clamped firmly onto the scruff of her neck. Her teeth snapped close over thin air, as the man deftly removed his wrist out of harm's way and rotated Megumi around to face him. 

"Spirited little thing, aren't you?" the man asked dryly, lifting one eyebrow. Crimson liquid still trickled steadily down his other arm, lax at his side. He was answered with another snappish attempt at his uninjured hand. 

"I'm not going to hurt you," the samurai finally said bluntly, frowning at the lucid gaze. He seemed discomfited by the piercing intelligence and burning hate of those orbs, but continued to glare with great annoyance into them.

"_Really, Tori-atama [Rooster-head]!_" Megumi snapped back mentally, referring the mop of spiky brown hair that much resembled the crown of a rooster. She ground her teeth against the wad of thread that used to resemble a badge in her mouth, making sure to render it beyond repair. Throwing her head back to one side, she flung the soggy wet wad straight at the Tori's face; as the man was now labeled within Megumi's mind. She then wriggled frantically to escape his grasp, taking advantage of the temporary loosening of his hand. Tori-atama cursed, fumbling to keep his grip on the slippery fox. 

"_I'm smarter than to believe an **Aizu** samurai,_" Megumi thought smugly as she landed with nary a sound upon the smooth wooden floors. She ran down the hall, ensuring the distance between the Aizu samurai and herself, before turning around and snarled again warningly at the Rooster.__

"_But I do thank you for taking me in from the cold…_" 

~*~

Sanosuke sighed and slowly followed the little white fox down the hall, entering the prayers room just in time to catch sight of a bushy tail disappear through the hole in the roof. It had climbed up along the rafter that the samurai had rolled along into the temple yesterday. He chuckled and returned back to the small dorm room he had staked as his bedroom, sure now that the little kitsune had gotten out safely. That was no ordinary fox, with its piercing cinnamon eyes and strange tactics. For the slightest moment, the thought that it could be a fox spirit crossed Sanosuke's mind. 

"Nah, all those kitsune spirit thingies were pure black. That one was completely white. Probably just a really smart fox," he dismissed the idea quickly, and sauntered to the trunk for the medicine box. 

"I better not catch some disease from that fox…" Sanosuke grumbled to himself as he unraveled the red stained bandages on his hand and slathered the waxy salve he had used the day before upon the broken skin of his hand. Tearing another strip of fabric from his quickly shrinking robes, Sanosuke wrapped up his hand. He pulled his long fingers into a tight fist, testing the bonds of the new bandages. Good. 

"Now next in line for business," Sanosuke told himself as he entered the temple's main room, "Cleaning up that big mess I made."

He approached the large pile of rubble wood with another boyish grin, not looking forward to working with the pile of splinters galore. But it should be done, as it was the least he can do for his life. With a sigh, Sanosuke began to pick his way through the soggy broken wood, methodically traveling back and forth between the pile and the temple gates as he gradually disposed of the mess.

Unbeknownst to the young Aizu samurai, a pair of light brown eyes laced with confusion curiously watched him work from the gaping hole in the roof above.  

~*~  

Megumi didn't understand. It seemed at first the Tori-atama was trying to hurt her, but then, he had let her escape intentionally. Otherwise, the tall brown-haired man would have easily caught with her. She tilted her head to one side, searching for possibilities within her sharp mind as she following the smooth movements of the Aizu samurai below from her perch. 

"_He must be trying to fool me,_" Megumi finally decided, for she knew that the sharp intelligence and acuity of the Shadow Foxes was widespread knowledge among the humans. For centuries, her ancestors had used their amazing knowledge of the healing arts to save human lives. Slipping in and out of houses like shadows, they would pull back from the brink of death the feverish child or the gravely wounded Aizu samurai, leaving everybody stumped the next day when someone discovered the healthy patient. The best doctors throughout the country couldn't even explain these phenomenons, as the only thing the healed patients could always remember was a sleek black fox. The people of Aizu finally accredited these miraculous incidents to that Kami looked upon Aizu with favor. The black fox was quickly associated with death itself, a dark demise that Kami saved the patient from.

However, after years of these miracles, the people of Aizu began to get arrogant. "We have the favor of Kami," they would say proudly to the other lands. When other lands invaded, they would pray and sit back, expecting their great Kami to dispose of the trespassers rather than taking up arms and doing something about it all themselves. Things soon got worse, as all the surrounding lands began clamoring for a piece of the undefended Aizu. Afraid and in need of someone to blame, fingers began to point to the black foxes all the healed patients saw. Megumi chuckled grimly at the irony of the entire situation. The older kitsunes of her family took great care to hide their presences each time they slipped into a residence to heal a human. Now they were blamed for the gradual death of the land. 

The very last straw had been placed when a farmer claimed he found the den of a family of black foxes.

~*~_flashback_~*~

_Five years back:_

_Young Megumi pranced about, hardly able to wait until it grew dark. Her first healing was tonight! For several days now, she had been slowly gathering the free-floating energy around her, now at her maximum strength. Tonight, she will seek out those in great need and help them, all by herself. Tonight, she will be given a chance to prove herself and become a true Healer kitsune. Just like her Mom! _

_"Megumi-chan! Stop it! You'll disturb your little cousins in the next room!" Megumi's mom gently chastened her, though even she could not hide the amusement and pride weaved within her soft voice. Megumi twirled on her hind paws, black bushy tail high in the air. _

_"I can't wait, Kaa-chan! I've been working so hard for so many years for this day! The Elders finally deemed me ready to do this all by myself! I can help people and be Healer just like you!" Megumi answered, bright cinnamon eyes glittering with excitement. Her Kaa-chan laughed lightly and elegantly curled her dark tail around her paws. _

_"It's almost time. Why don't you go outside for some fresh air and clear your head? The Elders are placing their trust upon you, Megumi-chan. You'll do wonderfully," Megumi's mother suggested, a fond smile upon her muzzle. Megumi nodded and pranced happily to the exit of the room mother and daughter currently occupied. Her mother looked after her with a warm curve to her mouth. It quickly disappeared in slight surprise when Megumi returned within a few moments. _

_"The main entranceway's block, Kaa-chan…so are the side doors," Megumi reported, a worried and perplexed frown upon her face. _

_"Get your aunt Naomi…maybe she forgot to inform us of any storms that are coming up…" Megumi nodded worriedly and darted away. Her mother, after making sure Megumi was gone, approached the blocked main entrance. She nudged it forcefully with her dark pointed nose, and then leapt sharply away from it as if it bit her. _

_"Not again…" she whispered harshly, staring with disbelief at the solid wall of stacked boulders. Her sister Naomi, a kitsune particularly sensitive to the subtle workings of Nature, has nothing to do with this. Jerking herself forcefully from her state of shock, the vixen uttered a sharp high-pitched bark. Similar barks were quickly returned and different members of the kitsune spirit family soon turned up at the entrance, the questions swirling within their cinnamon eyes answered at first sight of the solid barrier._

_"Not again…" one of the elder foxes sadly whispered, repeating what Megumi's mom had breathed minutes before. _

_"Check the other entrances," a deep commanding voice boomed through the uneasy silence. A tall proud male fox parted the crowd, his sharp amber eyes taking everything in within seconds. "We can't jump to conclusions so quickly, everyone, GO!" The crowd of black bodies dispersed, everyone running for different exits._

_"Naoko, can it be?" Megumi father asked grimly when the entrance area was emptied of all save himself and his mate. Megumi's mother turned sadly to her mate._

_"Hai, Yuusuke, love. Can't you smell the scent of men and oil? They are waiting outside, to make sure none of us escape," she replied, nudging the faintly damp rocks, hardly unnoticeable unless carefully perused._

_"Kaa-chan! It's not Naomi-san!" Megumi exclaimed as she arrived through one of the forking tunnels to the entrance. She halted to a stop, almost crashing into the strong chest of her father. "To-chan! Someone told me…that…they're going to b-burn this place down and we can't…can't…" Megumi trailed away, reluctant to voice the source of tension in the air. _

_"That someone is jumping to conclusions, Megumi-chan," Naoko reassured, her gentle voice calm and steady, affectionately nuzzling her daughter. Her unusually calm gaze met with Yuusuke's, silently questioning. He nodded curtly without hesitation._

_"Megumi-chan, come with me," Naoko said, blinking at Yuusuke. She kept her eyes closed for a fraction of a second longer than usual. He understood. "I need to show you something." Megumi curiously followed her mother, leaving Yuusuke behind at the entrance. As soon as the pair had disappeared around the corner, he allowed his store of Kitsune energy to flow around him, calling silently to all members of his pack save Naoko and Megumi. Despite that his power level was at a minimum, Yuusuke easily summoned them._

_"Come, my children, come to me…prepare yourselves…"_

_"Kaa-chan?" Megumi asked uneasily. Was it her, did it seem unnaturally warm? Naoko turned to her daughter, her delicate face grave. _

_"I was talking with your father, and we decided that you still need to go out to seek those who need your powers," she held a firm paw up, silencing her daughter's protests. "Though normally we send out several experienced Healers with a neophyte Healer, the Seers only feel need for one Healer today. If you do not go outside, an innocent child, a brave samurai, or someone else could loose the life that they deserve. Can you really deprive them of that just because a small meaningless avalanche blocked our exits?"_

_"But no one can get out! At this rate, we'll die of asphyxiation, if not starvat—"_

_"There is one last exit here that can only be used by a Healer at full power, as you are, just in case some natural disaster like this occurs," Naoko said, knocking down Megumi's argument down. "The Elders that dug this home were meticulous beyond reason." Megumi giggled along with her mother at the understatement of the century, reassured by the fact that her Kaa-chan could still joke so about the much-respected Elders. It must be nothing after all. Although the room still felt uncomfortably warm, Megumi dismissed her misgivings, blaming the heat on the temporary lack of proper ventilation. _

_"You should start the spell now. Chant all your illumination verses, blood order. Careful though, less you end up only getting half of you transported away," Naoko instructed as she trotted over to the tall shelves tucked away on the far wall. As the younger vixen chanted strange words, the elder retrieved a jar of fox salve, small enough to be carried comfortably within the mouth of a Healer. Highly effective and undetectable by the human eye within an hour's time, the fox salve was popular among the less experienced Healers to take on their night runs._

_"This is it?" Megumi inquired incredulously as she completed all her spells. Only a faint circle glowing faintly around her paws on the packed dirt stood show for her efforts. She tried to step to her mom, only to find her movement was limited within the circle. Megumi ducked her head, slightly embarrassed by her doubt of the work of the Elders._

_"It takes away no energy on your part, as Healers need to be at their full strength in order for a successful run. So it'll take a while to gather energy from its surroundings to actually transport you outside. Perhaps 10 to 15 minutes," Naoko commented lightly after she tossed the small jar of salve to her daughter. "Don't worry, Megumi-chan, you'll get used to all this after a little while," she added with a small laugh at Megumi's frustrated face. Megumi glared playfully at Naoko, before bursting into small giggles herself, realizing how ridiculous she most likely looked with a salve jar bulge in her cheek and a perplexed frown upon her face. Her giggles abruptly cut off as she cocked her head to one side, sniffing the air suspiciously._

_"Is that smoke?" Megumi questioned Naoko with alarm at the traces of smoke in the air that reached her nose. The small jar of kitsune medicine fell unnoticed to the ground. Naoko suddenly found her front paws extremely interesting._

_"Kaa-chan?" the young fox asked uncertainly, her pleading voice desperate for answers. Something was wrong, very wrong. Her instincts were going wild. A high cry of pain pierced through the air. Megumi fought against her circle bonds, straining to reach her mother. Naoko turned her head to one side, squeezing her elegant eyes with despair as she braced her shaking figure against the heart wrenching yelps. _

_"Kaa-chan, answer me! You lied to me didn't you? Why?" Megumi asked, hurt, frantically fight against her invisible barriers. _

_"She did what she had to, Megumi. Stop fighting the barrier, you'll only tire yourself out," Yuusuke's deep voice reverberated as he entered the kitchen, gently nuzzling Naoko's bowed form in a rare act of affection._

_"They're dying, aren't they?!!" Megumi hysterically yelled back at her father, ignoring his advice as she danced in panicked circles. "I can hear they! They're dying, To-chan!!! THEY'RE FUCKING DYING!!!" She threw herself particularly hard against the invisible wall around her before collapsing on the ground, harsh sobs racking her limp form. Yuusuke said nothing, looking at her silently._

_"You know why, Megumi-chan…" Naoko whispered. "You're no commonplace Healer. The potential within you is beyond what either your father nor myself could ever hope to achieve. If we wish for a kitsune to carry on this line, it must be you…" _

_"Big brother…big sister…my cousins…uncles…aunts…grandparents…Kaa-chan…To-chan…" Megumi listed repeatedly in a small voice, lying on her side. She heard her mother, but made no effort to acknowledge it. Her eyes were shut tightly as she struggled against the thick choking waves of heat._

_By now, laughing flames had worked their way into the room, basking the trio of kitsunes in the room with an ethereal glow against the darkness of the underground den. The cold fire seemed to cast no light upon the room, only saving their sights to the three. The cries for help had long ceased to the nothingness of death.  The air wrapped around the Healers in a burning embrace, pulling and pushing at their labored breath. Naoko coughed, hiding her discomfort while Yuusuke stood forever proud and tall, golden eyes glittering with unreadable emotion, seemingly impervious to the deadly fire. Licking red-orange flames wrapped around them, dangerously close. _

_Megumi watched her parents, forlornly gazing at them. Despite the hazy smoke that slowly permeated throughout the room, her parents stood with unreal clarity in her eyes. She shakily stood up, snarling at herself at an attempt to ward off the painful twisting of her chest. She ignored with amazing will the sharp endless sting of close flames, struggling defiantly against the results of human fear. _

_"I don't want it to be this way…" she hissed childishly. "It's not fair…" Naoko swayed slightly, the effects of heavy smoke and unbearable heat. She softly laid her head against her mate's strong shoulder, leaning into his warm support. _

_"It's not fair…" Megumi barked out harshly, this time her wavering voice filled with indignance. She watched her weakening parents with distant glazed eyes. The faint line of the circle around her feet began to glow softly. _

_"Takani Megumi," Yuusuke finally said. "Do not forget this gift we bestow upon you." He remained strong against the murderous flames, black chest high with pride despite the pain of his gradual destruction. Naoko opened her eyes weakly as a large chunk of the room ceiling crashed down, sending plumes of dusty gray smoke rolling throughout the room. No one flinched._

_"The ultimate gift…don't forget our love…my daughter…" she added, a peaceful smile upon her face. Her long black fur swayed softly from the wavering heat, small floating bits of burning materials decorating the air much like fireflies. Yuusuke nodded his agreement, allowing a small fond curve to his lips. _

"IT'S NOT FAIR!!!" Megumi screamed to her parents, her eyes full of love, pain, and regret. The circle was now glowing with an almost blinding amber light. With an even bright flash, she disappeared.

Yuusuke and Naoko looked at each other, and embraced. Megumi's father and mother then closed their eyes, a single tear rolling down each of their cheeks. 

Outside, Megumi weakly dragged herself to the wall that kept her from her parents. She batted vainly at the hard dirt. Narrowing her eyes, the young black fox backed away, intending to ram bodily into the wall. Her paw hit something and she looked down. It was the small jar of kitsune salve her mother had given to her. The sight of the jar seemed snap something deep within the vixen. Megumi gently picked the jar up in her mouth, and turning with slow hesitance, bounded away to the nearby line of trees. She paused right before she ventured among the dark tall figures, looking back with tear-filled eyes. Her shining eyes narrowed at the armored figures that stood so coldly around the tomb of the Shadow Kitsunes, their cold fire reflecting in Aizu's last Healer's dark gaze.   

Two teardrops fell to the ground as young Takani Megumi whipped her head furiously around and melted away into the shadows of the forest, shattering to a thousand gems as they hit. Two drops for all the innocent lives that left this world today. Two teardrops from a Kitsune spirit, a creature who cannot cry…

~*~ 

Megumi shook her white head, blinking owlishly as she pulled back from her thoughts. She had seen the badge worn by those self-upped samurai. She seen that emblem that those supposedly debonair men had carried so proudly upon their chest when they destroyed her life. Aizu's people are never to be trusted. Never.

"I'll be watching you, Rooster-boy," Megumi told him with a disdainful curl of her upper lip as she watched the Aizu samurai below. "Don't think you can so easily fool this one after what your kind of has done to mine…" 

~*~

**~End of Scroll Two~**

AN: Wow! I didn't expect you to like my ficcy. I'm definitely open to suggestions. Any particular moments you want to be included? One thing for sure about this fic, no, two. One: this is going to be one LONG fic, definitely longer than I had expected, so please bear with me (it's my first Kenshin fic!) and Two: this is a Sano/Megumi fic….I know…way to state the obvious. Do review and tell me whatcha think of this chappie as well!   


	3. Scroll Three

Disclaimer: There is something called a "patent". Then there is something called a "copyright", as well something called "ownership". How does all this tie in together? With an action known of "plagiarism", one can end up being subjected to another action known as "suing". And quite frankly, Shiroi doesn't care too much to be sued. And of course, Rurouni Kenshin belongs to the great deity Nobuhiro Watsuki.   

**~ Blessing of the Cursed ~ **

~ a rurouni kenshin fanfic ~ 

**~Scroll Three~**

Sanosuke stared up at the sky, leaning comfortably against one of the four tall red columns in the main room of the temple. The gaping hole in the roof, still unfixed, allowed delicate snowflakes to float into the temple floor and cast a strange light to the semi-darkness of the temple room. Sanosuke chuckled to himself at how harmless and surprisingly beautiful the fragile bits of lace seemed as they descended slowly to the wooden floor, vanishing upon contact.     

A small fire danced next to the samurai's still form, doing little to the dark room save lending a comforting heat to the figure next to it. A slab of deer meat roasted slowly over the orange flames, giving off a delicious smell. He felt strangely at peace, despite the dark dusty walls around him, the lack of others, or the ubiquitous chill in the air, and the fact that he was stuck in the middle of nowhere in a dilapidated temple or that he ran out of bodily fuel yesterday. There was no hustle and bustle of a war camp, with clanking soldiers scrambling to obey their superiors' orders. Everything now was hurried and completed with haste, since invaders from different lands grew bolder with each passing day. To just sit there and watch the snowfall, alone, it felt right. Yet, something seemed to be missing to complete this peaceful picture. Sanosuke growled and shook his head to rid himself of these thoughts. Being by himself for only a week's time was turning him into a philosophically blabbering idiot.  

Sanosuke looked down from the hole in the roof to the roasting hunk of meat on the spit. Out of the corner of his sharp brown eyes, he glimpsed a flash of white and dark amber hues. Heh, let the little foxy think it's hiding. He frowned at the slight discomfort of being stalked by a fox but shrugged it off. Most likely, the fox decided Sagara Sanosuke somewhat trustworthy, but wished to hang around and ensure its judgment. That was no ordinary foxy. Sanosuke probed the meat with his dagger, testing how well done it was.

Burning his fingers, the hungry samurai juggled the speared meat until the stick protruding as the temporary spit cooled enough to hold comfortably. Blowing on it to cool it, Sanosuke opened his jaws to chomp deeply in when he suddenly thought of the little kitsune. Poor thing, he remember how thin it had been, with its distinct ribs that jutted out oddly. Sanosuke growled and turned back to his food, once again opening his mouth to bite. Ungrateful little kitsune, it can get its own food, after mutilating his poor hand like that. After another heartbeat, Sanosuke uncertainly closed his mouth again with a sigh. Ungrateful and aggressive as the little creature was, it still was only trying to survive, like anyone else would.

"Stupid, insufferable, ungrateful little ball of stupid fur…" Sanosuke grumbled to himself as he tore a piece of meat from his share. Stupid conscience, stupid fox, stupid….BURN! He hissed as his already red fingers turned to the color of raw meat, tossing the meat in the air as he blew frantically on his abused digits. Sanosuke caught the airborne morsel and with another uncertain glare at the now-cool meat, extended it slowly to the startled little fox. 

Dark amber eyes only narrowed at him as the fox refused to budge from its shelter in the shadows. But its elegant black nose twitched at the smell that the food gave off. Sanosuke raised an eyebrow, calmly returning the cool gaze of the white fox. Their staring contest ensued for long moments, before the fox finally blinked and edged forward on wary paws. It gave Sanosuke one long searching look and snatched the offered meat from the Aizu samurai's fingers with a swift snap of its jaws. He chucked at the mocking bounce of the high busy tail as the white fox disappeared quickly back into the shadows to eat.

~*~

"_Traitor!_" Megumi growled at herself. "_Eating out of his hand like that!_" But she had been so hungry…Megumi snarled lightly at herself, but blinked back the confused and frustrated tears in her eyes. The human contradicted everything she held true for his kind; burning himself and going through the trouble to actually offer a portion of his already limited food supply to a wild animal that so viciously attacked him. His actions elicited strange tightness within her chest, and as much as she hated to admit it, Megumi was touched. And thoroughly perplexed. Weren't the humans supposed to cruel and heartless monsters? They certainly pictured sadistic bastards perfectly when they stood there so coldly watching the burning tomb of innocent lives. But…but…but, then again, her ancestors had helped these said bastards for so many centuries, willingly. 

"Is there something that I've yet to learn and understand about humans…?" Megumi whispered softly to herself with great uncertainty. She rolled her tongue slowly within her mouth, savoring the lingering taste of the delicious meat. There was a reason why her ancestors, her parents, her family worked so hard to help these fur-less creatures that decided themselves so much better than any other animal. Yet, even as a Healer, Megumi couldn't seem to grasp it. Confusedly, she shook her head and rose to her paws with one fluid movement. With a swish of her snowy white tail, she disappeared down one of the halls. Megumi ignored the sense of unease that pressed to the back of her neck as the sharp eyes of the strange Aizu samurai acknowledged her exit from the room. She slipped into one of the unused rooms and out of a small hole in the thin wooden wall.

Megumi picked her way in the snow, searching out protruding rocks that relieved her of the hassle of plowing through snow several feet thick. She carefully made her way to her small but snug den, not far from the little temple tucked away under the protective cliff. Upon entering the protected cleft between two particularly large stones along the cliff, Megumi turned several times and curled into a comfortable fluffy ball. Before tucking her warm furry tail over her nose, she reached over to a corner and nudged within her hold a small sealed jar. This jar of fox salve had remained sealed for five years, carefully loved and treasured by the kitsune spirit as the last reminder of her late family clan. Megumi held the tiny jar to her side lovingly as faded images floated through her mind. She was tired, her bewildered mind a convoluted mess of frayed nerves. The past days of watching the Aizu samurai with great suspicion brought upon Megumi nothing but confusion. Perhaps sleep will give her a few hours of oblivious bliss, and may she dream of her family clans' faces.

~*~

"_Megumi-dono_?"

_Eh…? Who is it…?_ Megumi slowly opened her eyes, and blinked. And blinked a few more times. This wasn't her cozy little den, snug with hues of gentle brown. Alarmed, Megumi hastily rose to her paws, the small jar tucked between them dropping and rolling a small distance away. A cool current of wind whipped about her, throwing her soft white fur in a frenzied dance as it whistled lightly within her ears. She was standing on a high column-like rock, the ground below hidden by gray storming clouds littered with white lightning. Surrounding her were countless more columns like the one Megumi occupied, uneven and jagged, protruding through the clouds and reaching for the wispy dark gray expanse above. Everything was characterized by shades of gray, the only color provided in this gray world were the swirling masses randomly placed upon horizons that mixed pure blackness, the grays around it, and the piercing amber that so characterized the eyes of the Shadow fox clan of spirit kitsunes. Despite this strange bleak world's dreary appearance, Megumi could sense the underlying weavings of tranquility and acceptance.

"_Megumi-dono?_" the voice asked again, from behind Megumi. She whirled around, meeting the clear amber eyes of another fox. He stood on a slightly more elevated column close to Megumi's, looking curiously down at her. The strange fox's fur was a fiery red, dancing in the wind like soft flames. His kind gentle amber eyes seemed to glow against the drab background. Megumi ignored all of it, baring her teeth suspiciously at the red fox.

"Who are you? And where am I?" she snapped, hackles raised to warn him. The fox only smiled sadly. Megumi glared at him, before her eyes abruptly widened as another thought struck her.

"You're a spirit kitsune! Why didn't you help my family back then? You obviously know of my situation, yet you just sit there smiling like a fur-faced idiot! Why didn't you even sho- - "

"_Maa, maa, Megumi-dono!_" the strange red fox interjected with a sheepish look upon his face, waving one of his front paws in a calming gesture. "_Please allow sessha to explain, de gozaru yo! Sessha is no spirit kitsune like yourself, de gozaru. Rather, sessha appeared in this form in hopes that Megumi-dono would be more comfortable conversing with sessha than with sessha's true form, de gozaru. Please accept sessha's apology for trying to deceive Megumi-dono._" Megumi raised an incredulous eyebrow.

"Dono? Maa, maa? Sessha? De gozaru yo…?" she echoed. The sharp gears within her mind turned quickly, anger temporarily placed upon the backburner. _Could it be…? It fits; amber eyes, extreme politeness…_ Megumi glanced up at the carefree smiling face of the strange red fox. Her acute eyes locked quickly upon a nearly unnoticeable cross-shaped scar upon his left cheek. 

"You're…you're the King of Dreams!" Megumi declared with slight awe. The King of Dreams' smile grew wider.

"_You are sharp Megumi-dono, de gozaru yo,_" he claimed. "_Oro!_" the King of Dreams suddenly yelped when he saw white vixen lay her head low to the ground in a respectful bow. 

"_Please don't do that Megumi-dono, de gozaru yo! Sessha is but a family friend!_" Megumi lifted her head, giving the modest and eccentric King of Dreams a look.

"Pardon my rudeness," she began, "but your Highness are quite strange. As figure of such power, your Highness prefers to lower your Highness below even the common stranger. Your Highness, as the lord of the Realm That is Not There, seek to present yourself in a way that results with your Highness's companion comfortable." The King of Dreams merely smiled and nodded, agreeing with every word that exited from the white vixen's mouth.

"_Please call me Kenshin_," he said. "_It can be said that sessha grows uncomfortable with everyone groveling at my feet._" Megumi smiled uncertainly as him, unsure of how to really react. He was so easy to talk to, like a long-lost friend…but he was the King of Dreams.

"Yes, your Hi- Kenshin-san. You don't need to keep your fox form. Kenshin-san may have a physical form that resembles that of a human, and I may dislike humans, but Kenshin-san is an exception…" 

"_Thank you, Megumi-dono. Then Sessha will resume his true form, de gozaru._" Kenshin allowed the floating fire-red edges of his shape to diffuse and form the shape of a small man with fiery hair. Now, the famed cross-shaped scar blared like a lantern in the night, vicious and angry as the day it was cut. The great King of Dreams wore his long tresses in a low ponytail at the base of his slender neck, his humble image highlighted by the threadbare hakama and gi. With the sword at his side, Kenshin looked everything the wandering swordsman. 

Megumi just rolled her eyes and raised an eyebrow at Kenshin, surer of herself with the appearance of Kenshin's rurouni state. Trust the famed comrade of her ancestor to display himself as such. She ignored the confused "_Oro_?" from the redhead. Then again, this was the guy that just decided to up her away from her den and dump her on an impossibly high stone column in the middle of who-dares-to-say-where... 

"…Erm, Kenshin-san?"

"_Hai, Megumi-dono?_"

"Where am I?"

"_Megumi-dono's inner space._"

"Why am I here?"

"_To ask Megumi-dono's permission to change her form to that of a female human."_

"…"

"_Is something wrong, Megumi-dono?_" 

"…No…I'm just wondering why would Kenshin-san wishes to do as he spoke of. I trust of Kenshin-san's decisions."

"_…_"

"Kenshin-san?"

Kenshin smiled that smile of his again, wistful, amber storms rolling within his orbs, yet strangely at peace. 

"_Megumi-dono knows sessha is an old friend of her family's. Centuries past, sessha made a promise to one of Megumi-dono's ancestors, Megumi-dono's great-grandfather to be exact. He had asked sessha to nurture and protect his children should…should anything come to happen to his clan._"

"Kenshin-san never appeared such as he does now to me the past years to though!" Slight hurt and betrayal laced through Megumi's voice, wobbling to keep such emotions at bay.

"_There was no need to be sighted by Megumi-dono's eyes. Sessha has had need to do very little._"

"Until now?"

"_Yes. Sessha promised to not only protect, but to nurture Megumi-dono as well and guide you on the path to your fullest potential._" Megumi sat down on her hindquarters with a small sigh. She didn't get where the thousands years old King of Dreams was going. As if he read her mind, Kenshin continued.

"_There are many things Megumi-dono needs to learn about the world. Intellectually, you are more than well prepared, but life is much more than factual literature. Forgive sessha for trying to arrange a situation that will hopefully teach Megumi-dono new things._"

"Forgiven, Kenshin-san."

"_Sessha believes that the Aizu samurai Sagara Sanosuke has much that he may be able to teach you. In a human form, you will be able to communicate more directly with him._" Megumi leapt to her paws, staring at Kenshin in horror. 

"You're kidding me! You're really thinking of sticking me in that old temple to live with him?!" Kenshin merely, again, smiled, amused at the reaction to his idea.

"_Three months, that is all sessha asks of Megumi-dono. Sagara Sanosuke-dono seemed like a perfectly nice man during the past week._"

"…" Megumi remained silent, torn between her own feelings and the advice of the great and powerful King of Dreams, loyal to her family for the centuries and wise with the years behind him. 

"_Can Megumi-dono listen to sessha's details?_" Megumi nodded hesitantly, and sat back down. She didn't meet Kenshin's amber eyes.

"_Sessha thought it would be well if Megumi would be a medicine woman. Sessha can plant the needed memories in the minds of the villagers in the nearby town in the land of Kyoto. Megumi-dono would have came by them three months ago, and asked for a place to set up her medicines. The abandoned temple near the Aizu/Kyoto borderline would have been suggested. The villagers shall think that they have always turned to Megumi-dono for help. A week ago, you left for more medicine supplies, just now returning to find Sagara Sanosuke-san living in your home. Out of the kindness of your heart for the soldier_– " at this point, Megumi snorted softly "_- Megumi-dono allows him to stay for the time being with you. If you agree to my advice, I shall lull the battles of Aizu for three months and ensure he stays for the full time period._"

"I have to deal with more than one human?" Megumi asked softly several moments after Kenshin finished his explanations. It was stupid question, both of them knew it. But neither acknowledged that fact out loud. Both of them also realized the need for Megumi to ask such a question for the final infirmity to guide her to the decision, the need to hear the vocal answer and confrontation to the wounded spirit kitsune's deep loathing for humans. 

"_Yes_." 

"…" Megumi stood again; her slender neck long and proud, defiant against the battering forces that have plagued her so all her life.

"Alright then, I agree with you. I accept your advice, King of Dreams." Her voice quavered not once, strong and sure. Just like the violent grudge still embedded within her heart.

The lazy swirling centers set on the horizon of Megumi's inner space sped up, the swirling colors becoming but blurs of nothing. Suddenly they erupted with a blast of bright hues, throwing the heavy shadows so prominent in the space away to corners unseen. Neither being watching the show blinked, only viewing with blank casualness. Megumi turned from the rapid bullets of color blobs to meet the amber gaze of the King of Dreams. He smiled kindly, and nodded. Megumi nodded back and turned to the colorful display of colors. She closed her eyes to the gentle warmth that gathered around her.    

~*~

Megumi slowly allowed her closed eyes to open at the rush of cool air that caressed her face. She put up one hand to block away the blinding glare of many faceted ice crystals and froze. Quickly rushing to her feet, Megumi stared at the pale slender hands in front of her. When she tried to curl her paws, the graceful digits before her curled in fists. She turned her hands around, staring at the different angles. As Megumi lowered her head, a curtain of black silk intercepted her vision. Black hair, unlike the snowy white that she possessed for so long. At the moment, she wore a purple smock-like over a long kimono. She felt her body's shape under the clothing. Megumi traced with wonder the graceful lines of her shoulders, arms, from her breasts to the narrow waist that tapered to into the end of her hourglass figure upon long slender legs. 

Tearing herself from her state of curiosity, Megumi gathered the strange basket within her arms and studied her surroundings. She was right outside the gate into the temple walls. The small jar of fox salve lay at her feet, a small blemish upon the smooth blanket of snow. She bent to pick it up and place it into her basket, acknowledging the tightening and loosening of all the muscles that worked her simple action. Megumi had read all about the typical bodies that she would have encountered as a Healer. She took several steps forward, testing the workings of her new form. Sure that she could move with the grace Megumi had so prided herself with in her fox form, Megumi approached the large wooden doors that led into the courtyard of the temple grounds. Throwing them open with surprising strength, Megumi marched with an air of authority to the main doors. She knew the source of a grueling test lay beyond those doors, but Megumi raised her hand without hesitation to knock. She tapped her knuckles briskly against the aging wood, the hollow sound echoing through the courtyard. 

~*~

**~End of Scroll Three~**

A.N.: I sorry! I haven't the time to even work on this for the past weeks. Ergs, homework. I don't need to say more. School….shudder. Anyways. Please review and tell whatcha think. Very boring, no action, I know, but bear with me on this more-romance-than-action/adventure-fanfic. I'm very wordy, and very lazy. Bad combination.    


	4. Scroll Four

Disclaimer: I'm tired. I'm sorry. I don't give a hoot. But that doesn't change anything. I still don't own Rurouni Kenshin. 

A.N; I am so sorry. As excuses go, I forgot the very last step in uploading this chapter, and thought it posted for several weeks. Then I realized I hadn't, so here it is, the fourth chapter. Again, I am very sorry. I welcome flames for this folly. 

**~ Blessing of the Cursed ~ **

~ a rurouni kenshin fanfic ~ 

**~Scroll Four~**

A brisk series of raps rang hollowly through the temple. Sanosuke's head jerked up, his bleary eyes still glazed from sleep. Several moments passed before it occurred to Sanosuke he had just awoken from a deep sleep he had not realized he had fallen into. The fire had died out to but a slender curl of smoke, drifting up through the roof. There was now a puddle of water directly underneath the hole, the fallen snow having melted. 

_Knock-knock-knock_!

"Uh?!" Sanosuke grunted stupidly as he leapt to his feet with surprising speed. 

"Who would come to a nowhere place like this?" Sanosuke asked with a yawn, scratching his sleep-tousled brown spikes as he approached the bolted doors slowly, with almost leisurely ease. "_Oh yeah…me…_"

_Knock-knock-knock!_!!!!!!

"I'm coming, coming! Don't hafta pound down the door," the grumpy samurai growled as he threw aside the long beam and jerked open the doors.

"People these - -da…." Sanosuke's angry mutterings stopped short, his mouth hanging open at the woman that stood in front of him.

"I have the prerogative to do so, baka Tori-atama! Just as I do to throw you out of here, considering this is _my_ residence," the woman said with a disdainful sniff. She flipped her curtain of silky black hair over her shoulder and pushed past the dumbfounded Sanosuke into the temple doorway.  

"I see you've made a mess of this place as well…hmph! Men!" she continued as she placed her hands akimbo upon her slender hips. The shock of her unexpected entrance as well as the sting of her rapidly fired insults finally registered fully with Sanosuke. 

"H-hey! It was like this before I came here! And you obviously weren't here—" Megumi ignored Sanosuke, proceeding on further inside. He trailed off, baffled at this strange sharp woman. The only other female who would look so defiantly into a man's eyes was his comrade, Kamiya Kaoru. But then again, Jou-chan was no regular demure little slip of girl. Ah, fond memories of when she would kick the ass of any idiot that got too close. A slight frown slipped upon Sanosuke's brow as he wondered how Jou-chan and the stoic General Shinomori have fared. Though he did not care much for the General, the little Missy was like a sister to him.  

"Rooster-head! If you want to continue leeching off me, quit standing there like the dumb idiot you are and start cleaning up this mess you've made. After that, you can start pulling your own weight for once by polishing that statue of Buddha!" the woman snapped, her hands akimbo upon her slender hips. She had stopped right before the other hallway that lead to the kitchen, her back facing the samurai; every fiber of her being projecting that she didn't find Sanosuke even worthy to face when talking to. Sanosuke perused her as she walked down the hall, unable to shake off the strange sense of dejá vu as the woman snapped at him. 

Then it hit him.

"Oy, Kitsune!" The woman froze, bristling at the name. Sanosuke grinned in triumph, completely unaware at how close his name hit home.  

'_I got her now! She probably can't stand being compared to a sly and sneaky fox..._'

"You don't hafta be so damned hostile!" She turned around, narrowed eyes accented by high spots of red upon her creamy cheeks. To Sanosuke, she looked absolutely beautiful. Dangerously so.

Fiery promises of death danced with her cinnamon eyes. 

"Why shouldn't I?" she hissed. "I come home to find my home a complete mess and some lump of a stone strutting around like he owns the place. You should be grateful for the fact that I'm even allowing you to remain here."

"Stones don't strut." Sanosuke's brown eyes narrowed as he snapped back. 

"I don't know...with you apparently, anything can happen." With that, the insufferable woman whirled and continued her way down the hall, disappearing into the room with a flick of her thick silky hair. Sanosuke blinked after her. She was good. After all, not many people he knew could turn such a positive phrase into a sharp lethal insult. 

"And I don't even know what family could spawn such a spirit Kitsune like her..." Sanosuke grumbled. Spirit kitsune, alright. 

No regular vixen could possibly be compared to her. At that moment, he didn't know if that woman, or the much feared Shadow Foxes of five years ago was worse.       

~*~  

Megumi choked down a frightened gasp as she rounded a corner into one of the rooms. She clenched her fists and calmed the erratic beating of her heart. She sighed softly when Megumi thought she could open her eyes without tears in them. She had nearly forgotten to breath when that insolent boy called after her, hitting so close to her true form's name. 

"No matter," Megumi firmly told herself. "He doesn't know, and there is nothing that can prove to anyone that I am a Spirit Kitsune. Just make the best of it, for whatever reason there is…" She peeked out of her temporary hideout and glanced the lanky soldier slowly and steadily picking up the major offenses of his mess. Maybe these Aizu soldiers could do something right after all…

Megumi shook her head and turned to the basket within her arms. Enough about that arrogant fool. She scanned the room, and after deeming it suitable for her intended actions, kneeled to open the basket. Glimpsing the contents, the first genuine smile to grace her full lips shone through. She whispered a quick thanks to Kenshin and set to her own work of unpacking the medical equipment used by many human doctors along with the numerous types of medicinal herbs she was so familiar with.

The small shelf that hugged the corner of the room was perfect, having just enough room to hold all the herbs. Megumi tenderly picked up the last jar and placed it so it was hidden by the larger ceramic jars. If she looked carefully, she could still see the proud little fox emblem drawn upon the surface. 

With a small sigh, the dark haired fox turned from her nostalgia and looked upon the state of the rest of the room. No kidding when one would say it was in a sorry state. Megumi simply loosened her shoulders and exited her claimed room in search of a broom. 

"Oy! Kitsune! This clean enough for ye?" His cheerful tenor voice echoed in a way that was almost painfully loud among the lonely timbers to Megumi's sensitive ears. She winced and whirled upon the loud rude samurai with a graceful yet vicious billow of cloth and hair. 

"Do you want to bring down this entire mountain of snow upon us?!" she hissed. The lanky soldier's eyes narrowed, all light of friendly intent now absent.

"What is it with you?" he growled. "I was just trying to be nice. Sorry." 

"Nice?" Megumi snapped back almost instinctively. "_Nice_ is word used to describe gentlemen. As in an adjective that means respectable, favorable, good, grateful …etc. You can try all you want, buddy, but that's all you'll ever by doing; trying!" They glared at each other across the room. To the samurai's surprise, Megumi suddenly tore her suddenly overly bright eyes from his and turned to hurry down the hallway.  Her light footsteps quickly faded. 

~*~

Sanosuke scratched his head. 

"Eh?" he wondered with a perplexed look upon his face. He just couldn't get women. And he thought Jou-chan was complicated with her mood swings and the time of the month and all. Women and their moods.  Sanosuke lazily turned in a circle back to his own business. Why should he care about that horrid woman? Sanosuke stopped short and clenched his fist after a long period of silence and stillness.

This isolation thing was making him too damned soft.    

The tall samurai turned back around and headed towards the direction that the foxy lady had disappeared to. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his too-short pants and glanced into the rooms he passed along the hall out of the corner of his eyes.

He found her in the kitchen, back to the door. She gripped an old broom within her hands, staring at something that Sanosuke couldn't see. He stood there, frowning at the dejected way that the woman stood, leaning heavily upon the slender broom with shoulders slumped, as if the weight of the world were upon them. Unsure of what to say, Sanosuke simply stood there. He knew that the strange woman had long sensed his presence. Finally, she slowly turned her dark a head the slightest fraction, so one smooth cheek was bared to his view.

"What?" she whispered harshly, her voice hoarse as if tears had fallen. Sanosuke shrugged, then realized the woman's beautiful dark amber orbs were not focused upon him. He uncomfortably shifted his weight from one foot to the other, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets. 

"You okay?"  

The gentle rise and fall of her shoulders stilled abruptly. Sanosuke's eyes narrowed as a particular thought rose within his mind. These barbs that she so viciously throws at him, it's as if…

Sanosuke crossed the small remaining distance and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. He felt her stiffen even more, if that was even possible. But she lowered her head the slightest fraction and remained, doing nothing to violently push him away as he had expected A small silence passed, neither of the two moving an extra inch. The more lecherous part of Sanosuke's soldierly rough mind marveled at how fragile and slender her shoulder felt. 

THWAHWAHAKO!

Ouch. Sanosuke found himself marveling at the intricate working of wood. He could still hear the echoes of wood upon flesh, or was it just his ringing ears? 

"Don't. Touch. Me." Sanosuke focused his dizzy eyes, and allowed a long lopsided grin to curve his mouth. She was mumbling something strange. He couldn't figure what she was trying to express, but he didn't care at all. All he could think of were her bright cinnamon eyes, how they shone so angrily, hardly hidden by the long thick lashes that lined them. None of the whores in any brothel could possibly compare to this vision, despite the pounds of make-up they where and the provocative outfits they attire themselves with. This modest angel, much like a mournful swan, outshone all those twittery crows…pretty…

Sanosuke squeezed his left eye close, as sudden flashes of pain rang out from the left side of his face. A familiar tickling sensation ran along his temple, and red started to color his vision. That face over his, so beautiful, twisted strangely and then slowly faded to darkness. 

~*~

"Samurai?" Megumi looked uncertainly at the limp body upon the ground behind her. These human muscles, they are so large compared to those of her vixen body. She had only meant to stun him with a light knock to the head, but the broomstick snapped, many of the wooden splinters embedding themselves into the side of his head. 

She dropped to her knees, lying her dark head upon his breast. One of those splinters, they…they could have pierced the soft area known as the temple among humans. If only even a half inch deep into the temple, it could kill. As much as Megumi hated this worthless stupid being, her Healer's heart beat erratically, fearing the worst. As a Healer, it was the ultimate sin within her clan to take the life of another with paws/hands created to give life. She waited for a long while, but his chest neither gave rise or rest.    

"Samurai?!" she cried out, shaking his arm. She tugged frantically at his shirt sleeve. Her panicked handling caused the loose ties at his waist to thread apart, shifting the cloth to expose a bandaged torso. Megumi's small temper tantrum upon the soldier ceased abruptly, as she stared at the red-stained cloth with horror. Reacting instinctively, she removed the rest of the Aizu samurai's too-small shirt, her eyes widening at the wounds, old and new, that decorated his body. What kind of monstrosities is Aizu experiencing?

One of his bandaged hands caught her eye, and shakily took his larger hand within her slender own. This was the one she had so hatefully buried her kitsune fangs in. Anger at herself welled up within her chest. How could she be so childish? It seems as if everything she did against this man, it seemed to come so by itself. She just couldn't say anything even remotely nice to him. 

Megumi gently set his hand back by the samurai's side. No pulse was present either. She studied his face, surprised at how young the man looked, hardly 20 years at all. Megumi stubbornly averted her gaze, biting her lip. 

_Plip._

Megumi looked down in surprise at the small droplet of wetness that rested upon the back of her hand. Tears? She reached up, feeling the strange salty wetness at the corners of her eyes. Kenshin had warned her about the quirks of a human female's body. Of the monthly flows, the mood swings, and tears. Tears came easily, as these weak things cried often, using them to many purposes. But why was she crying? And these droplets would not stop coming out. She angrily wiped them away. 

"Crying won't solve anything," she told herself defiantly. Megumi turned back to the samurai. He wasn't dead yet. Somehow, she just knew, deep down within her soul. Perhaps…she could…she was still at full power…he wouldn't know….she could just say he was out for a long time…well…Megumi took a deep breath. And then she slowly closed her eyes. She was going to make up for the injuries she committed with hands made for healing. 

A.N. Very short chappie. A small look into Megumi's character. She's a bit childish and out of character, however (you can and will tell in all my stories, present and future) I go for the kind of plot where the character grows into their full Rurouni Kenshin character through the experiences in my fic. Review! Any ideas and topics for sweet Megumi and Sanosuke moments, please do tell! I have a little trouble with this kind of sweet waffy fluff, either it's violence, extreme silliness, or angst with me. Sigh. Constructive reviews also welcome. 

P.S. Sanosuke's supposed to seem a little deranged in his little mental soliloquy after Megumi hit him. He just bwonked on the head!


	5. Scroll Five

Disclaimer: Annoying little things, aren't these? Just click on the scroller and refer to any of the chapters before chapter 5. I'm lazy.

**Blessing of the Cursed **

a rurouni kenshin fanfic

**Scroll Five**

Sanosuke slowly opened his weary eyes, cursing the sunlight that filtered in through the thin paper windows of the kitchen, and the hard wooden floor that drove painful kinks into his spine. He cautiously raised his hand to shield his still sensitive eyes, and froze. Something was missing. Sanosuke raised his gaze to the smooth skin of his hands and stared. All of his wounds; wars wounds and bites, they were all gone, leaving nothing but near invisible pinkish scars.

Sanosuke sat up in rapture, thoroughly enjoying the feel of his muscles working without the painful reminders of his wounds. His bandages were gone, the samurai's other injuries that had caused him much silent agony remained only as light scars. His battle torn body was completely healed, save for the slight stiffness from lying on hard wooden ground, Sanosuke felt as if he had slept fully for a week.

Wooden floor? Why was he lying on the floor of the kitchen anyways? Recent memories flooded back into his mind. That foxy woman had hit him with an old bamboo broomstick, so hard that the thing had snapped in half. Sanosuke reached up and covered the left side of his face. There was nothing; no wounds, no splinters, just smooth skin. It was if nothing had happened at all.

Confused, Sanosuke looked around him. His old used bandages were piled to a corner, along with want seemed to be a remnants of a broom. So she did hit him with a broom, but how could he have healed so quickly? Unless…no, impossible. Nothing else had changed within this kitchen to bear witness to a passage of time. There was no new dust, the rice bag looked no less than when he last saw it, and the woodpile he had created there had not one log less.

Nothing seemed to connect. Sanosuke raked a large hand through his messy spikes and sighed heavily. As he did so, Sanosuke thought that he caught the scent of burning incense. Curiosity arisen, the young soldier smoothly rolled to his feet and exit the kitchen in search of the source.

He entered the large prayer room of the small temple, catching sight of the dark-haired woman's kneeled figure before the statue of Buddha. A handful of old incense burned lazily in the rusting pot before the golden stature, the smoke wafting around the woman's slender form like the mythical clouds gods of certain religions were said to ride upon. Sanosuke studied her profile intently, perusing the pallid skin covered with a sheen of light perspiration, the slight frown of her dark brow as her full perfect lips moved silently in prayer.

Confusion seemed to be a rather popular emotion for him lately. That foxy lady was nothing but confusion herself. She seemingly hated the very existence of his being, yet who else was there that could tend to his wounds?

"Paint a picture, Tori-atama, if you're even capable of that. It'll last longer." She had not moved from her position, but her eyes were open, burning into his from the angle of her unturned head. Her clipped voice was the same acid that burned so every time. Sanosuke just made a light noise of annoyance and rolled his eyes.

"What kind of medicines did you use? To have healed me so fast?" he growled. "Witchery?" He felt almost sorry for accusing such of this beauty, but if was engraved into his nature now, from years of Aizu war.

"If you would call time black magic, then, accuse me all you wish. Only time can better all wounds." She replied simply. Her golden gaze had moved from his figure to the round one of Buddha.

"Time?!" he asked incredulously. "Then tell me how I managed to recover from my wounds within the time and space of one day?" She didn't answer immediately. After a small silence, she lowered her hands to her lap.

"Thank you," the woman finally replied, and began to stand. Sanosuke stared at her. She continued upon the perplexed expression of the young man's face.

"For proving true my earlier impression of your complete idiocy." She rose to her full height, boring into Sanosuke with piercing cinnamon eyes, hands akimbo upon her hips and nose slightly raised in disdain. A thin arched eyebrow dared Sanosuke to retaliate.

Silence balanced on a tight taut thread as the pair waged a war beyond all others, neither giving in. The lack of intentional sound allowed for other softer noises to be heard. The samurai's eyes narrowed as his sensitive ears picked up her light gasps for air, as if struggling to breath at all.

Sanosuke broke their locked gaze just as the woman began to sway slightly on her feet. She gripped the altar table stubbornly for support. As Sanosuke took a step forward to help her, she glared at him. A small bead of perspiration trailed lazily down her forehead to the tip of her nose. The soldier watched as it broke its hold to her pale skin and fell to the floor with a soft 'plip'.

He strode to her with a scowl on his face, ignoring the woman's obvious message for him to keep his place. Sanosuke took her elbow and steadied her as he firmly retracted her from the supporting altar.

"Get away from me!" she whispered harshly. She twisted her wrist, trying to escape his hold. Sanosuke released her in immediate obedience. In her pause of surprise, the lanky young man swept the slender female into a bridal style hold in one swift movement.

"Put me down!!" She began to fight with great fervor as she squirmed and writhed. Briefly, Sanosuke could almost compare her movement to that of the white fox from earlier. If she wasn't so weakened at the moment, the woman would have easily twisted away. But that thought quickly swept away to wisps of nothing as he couldn't help but notice the soft curves hidden underneath her modest attire, pressed against his own body. Flashes of fleshy white bodies leaped through his mind, each of them seemed to possess enchanting amber eyes and long silky hair.

"You stupid moron! Put me down! Down! As in slowly bend at your knees and loosening the muscles in your arms so you can let me go!" the woman's half-screech snapped Sanosuke out of his thoughts, and he looked down to study her angry face as she continued to rant and insult his being.

Beautiful.

Hauntingly so. If another female had such hollows in her cheeks as this woman did, she would have looked hideous. Sanosuke's eyebrows furrowed deeply together. She was too thin. The angles of her shoulder and hip dug into his chest. She hardly seemed to have a presence of weight at all in his arms.

"Have you eaten anything lately?" he growled. His inquiry only seemed to fuel her raging protests even more. Light brown eyes seemed to glow as her full mouth twisted.

"Of course I - - " Sanosuke cut her off, having known the answer he even asked.

"Haven't." he finished for her. _No wonder nothing changed in the kitchen…_ Sanosuke turned from the altar and headed for the room he had seen her take to sometime before. It was the least he could try to do after her expert care of his injuries, however that she did care. For now, he won't pry too far into these suspicious matters.

"Where do you think you are taking me, baka Tori-atama?!" He tightened his arms around her and frowned slightly. More insults streamed from her mouth.

"Oh, be quiet, woman." Sanosuke finally snapped gruffly. She obeyed, surprised by the tone of his voice. He entered her chosen room and lowered her to the futon with surprising gentleness. The young samurai pulled the covers from their neatly folded state and draped them over her thin figure.

"And my name isn't 'Baka Tori-Atama'; its Sagara Sanosuke," he growled at her as she opened her mouth to speak. With such an introduction, he exited and slid close the door.

Megumi lay there, staring at where _he_ had been. She hadn't moved since that stupid _boy_ had dumped her on the futon and tucked her like a helpless babe. Sagara Sanosuke… that was no way to introduce oneself. Besides, Kenshin had told her what that human's name was, she just didn't believe to take the effort and learn it. Megumi narrowed her eyes slightly and scowled. Who did that baka Tori-atama think he was?

A shiver ran along her spine, and Megumi finally shifted her dark head to face the ceiling as she pulled the blankets closer around her. Briefly, she thought of the warmth of _his_ embrace. For a moment, Megumi could almost imagine herself 5 years past. Secure, happy, and loved. Maybe she did overtax herself on her first healing. The kitsune spirit shivered again.

Megumi placed a white hand upon her forehead, wincing at the heat emitted from her head. But somehow, she couldn't blame Sagara-san. She didn't regret her actions one bit. His injuries were ridiculously numbered, there was not one area of his body that did not seem to be littered with at least light scrapes and scratches.

Her eyelids felt so heavy; now that she had finally allowed her tired body one moment's rest, it has realized how truly deprived it was. Megumi shook her head and forced them to stay open. She can't sleep, not with _him_ in the premises. Megumi lifted her head up, propping herself up on her elbows. The room's walls roared into a vicious dance around her as strange sounds rang in her ears; as if they laughing at her weakness.

The fox-girl exhaled and allowed her leaden body to fall back. She was just too tired. As her tight control of her mind and body fell, Megumi smiled slightly as she recalled the security she took from Sanosuke's hold.

A breeze whistled past her ears as she slowly opened her eyes. Uneven gray met her cinnamon gaze, the pressures of ground against one of her sides. Megumi slowly sat up, and found herself once again on top of a high column of gray stone. Her long black hair danced in the corner of her eyes. Almost fondly, Megumi thought of how strange it was see black as this take to her hair after half a decade of snowy white.

Raising her gaze, Megumi stared at the skies of her inner space. It has changed in the day or so she was not here. Dark hues of gray still dominated this peaceful setting, yet white and amber suddenly seemed to be everywhere. The two bright colors wedged their way into every shadow, every crevice. Thought not helping to make this place anymore day-like, their presence brought out the tiniest facet of every rock and stone. Small cliffs and boulders that Megumi would have never possibly noticed before were now in sight. The swirling masses upon the dark horizons had also changed, now weaved with more amber than ever before. Somehow, despite that there no more light than before, Megumi could see her inner space in a much clearer way.

"_Konnichiwa, Megumi-dono,_" the King of Dreams' light voice softly sounded. "_How are you doing?_" Megumi spun her head around and leapt to her feet, bowing her dark head to Kenshin.

"_Oro! Megumi-dono, please! Sessha has asked Megumi-dono to not treat sessha so!_" Kenshin's flustered voice rose to an almost feminine pitch. Megumi raised her head and stared at Kenshin's comical expression. Her shoulders began to shake as she tried to keep her laughter to herself, her full laugh would hardly be appropriate here. When Megumi found herself composed enough to speak, she took her hand away from her mouth.

"Sorry, Kenshin-san. This servant is very rude." The King of Dreams just smiled gently and shook his red head.

"_Not at all, Megumi-dono. You just need not to be so formal with sessha. Sessha is but an unworthy heir of a much-respected title_." Megumi looked up at Kenshin, as he occupied again the column nearby that was slightly higher elevation than hers. His hair was fiery red like always, but the spark in his amethyst eyes seemed dulled and the usual perfect posture of a swordsman was misplaced; his shoulders slumped from fatigue, and red head slightly lowered. If it was possible, his shabby hakama and gi were even more threadbare.

"Kenshin-san, What is the matter with you?" the kitsune healer inquired with immediate worry. Her sharp eyes had quickly picked out the small signs that shouldn't exist.

"_Megumi-dono is very sharp, that she is. Sessha will not hide the truth from her. Lately, the Baku, the Dream Eaters, have been getting very difficult. The nightmares that they feed on are disturbing, so much that the Baku themselves are affected._"

"Baku…" Megumi echoed. She had heard of these Baku before. Should a dreamer awake from a dream of ill omens, he would call upon them to eat the dream and take away what it holds. Kenshin smiled and pointed slowly to the base of a column of rock far to the side of Megumi's inner space. She followed the direction of his gaze, and saw a strange animal the size of a lion, snuffling along the rocky ground with its long nose.

"_The Baku are crafty beasts; hard to catch, even harder to hold. But with the nightmares brought by bloody war, they are driven to the brink. They do not want to listen to sessha's command as for which dreams they may, or may not, consume_." Megumi looked up at Kenshin's tired face.

"What will happen should they break your hold over them?" she asked quietly.

"_They will consume everything. Dreams of day and night, human desire and motivation. Without the hope from dreams, all will be lost,_" was the King of Dreams' blunt reply. His grim face reminded the fox-girl of the stories once told of how the King of Dreams was a ruthless killer, known in nightmares as Battousai. Now, she could see how it could be the name of this peaceful little man.

"_But enough of that, the Baku's lack of cooperation is but a common occurrence. Megumi-dono has yet to answer sessha's question, that she has._" Kenshin blinked and then smiled. The hard glint of his narrow eyes was gone, replaced by wide Rurouni violets. Megumi ducked her head a small fraction, an act of apology for her delay in answer. As she looked back up at Kenshin, the kitsune thought sadly, _How hard it must be to take a powerful position such as the King of Dreams. Such responsibilities._

"Oh, sorry, Kenshin-san! I'm perfectly healthy, just a little tired from healing that baka Tori-atama."

"_Oro? Tori-atama? Rooster-head?_" Kenshin asked with confusion.

"His hair sticks up like the crown of a rooster," Megumi explained calmly as if she were informing the King of Dreams of the weather. "And he squawks like one too," she couldn't help but add.

"_Ah, then sessha assumes things are going well, that they are?_" Kenshin inquired with an amused grin. The swirling masses of Megumi's inner space suddenly picked up speed, strange colors like blue and red appearing. A hard gust of wind streamed through the lonely rock columns, pulling both parties long locks into a wild dance.

"H–Sagara Sanosuke…" Megumi finally began after a loud silence. "He was better than I expected…" she admitted in a low voice. Kenshin continued smiling.

"_Oh?_" At his prompting, the suddenly shy vixen continued hesitantly.

"I bit him earlier on, as a fox, and he still offered me food. I know you made me very beautiful in the eyes of humans, Kenshin-san. Yet he didn't take advantage of my weakened state and actually seemed as if he were worried about me, Takani Megumi…" As if she had realized such observations for the very first time, Megumi frowned, her eyes downcast in deep yet vain pondering of her confusion. Now that she thought about it, the Aizu samurai's actions made no sense to her. This was supposedly to be a cruel, heartless bastard. He probably was there when they…they…no, she didn't want to think about it.

"_Megumi-dono?_" The rurouni's soft voice pulled Megumi from her straying thoughts. Aware of her surroundings again, Megumi that her pale hands were clenched fiercely to her sides, her full bottom lip caught painfully between her teeth. Embarrassed to be seen in such a situation, the dark haired fox hastily relaxed her tense muscles, pulling her upset facial expression to one of cool nothingness.

"_Megumi-dono,_" the King of Dream's gentle voice sounded again with worry. "_You overworked yourself while healing, didn't you? When you wake, try gathered some energy from your surroundings; it'll make you feel a little better. One would feel poorly if they expend so much energy as to need to tap into their own life force to continue survival._"

Megumi stared, then scrunched her face slightly. She didn't need Kenshin to tell her _that_. Even the month old cubs knew to borrow energy from the life around them should they grow weak. Being human was making her stupid. A sigh escaped her; was anything in her control anymore?

"Thanks, Kenshin-san. I appreciate the advice." Megumi grudgingly inclined her head, still upset that it didn't occur to her to take to such a simple action. The violet-eyed being smiled again, his hair and clothes blowing in the now calmed currents. He suddenly leapt high into the air, and landed with nary a sound next to the vixen. Megumi watched in trance-like wonder at the feline grace of his lithe form, bending to absorb all impact. The King of Dreams stood and looked into the taller female's cinnamon eyes. Briefly, the dark-haired fox-girl couldn't help but notice how short Kenshin really was.

"_I'm glad,_" Kenshin told as his amethyst orbs curved slightly with a tired smile. "_That Megumi-dono is doing well._" Megumi blinked in surprise, and then blinked again.

She found herself lying awake back in her room in the temple.

With another sigh, Megumi closed her eyes again and breathed deeply, searching for the glow of life at the corner of her soul. A generous and well-off pine near the base of the mountain gladly lent her the energy she needed.

As her body returned to health, her mind wondered shortly to the samurai soldier, Sagara Sanosuke. Maybe she should give him a chance to prove his decency despite his humanity. After all, as Kaa-chan always asked, what is light without the shadows it creates? Affirming this decision with a small nod, the fox-girl rose from the futon, grateful for the King of Dreams' advice when her body didn't cry out in pain.

Unsure of what else to do, Megumi kneeled by the futon and offered a small but heartfelt prayer for Kenshin's well-being. He had looked so tired and abused. Kenshin had looked far older than any supernatural being should ever appear.

_"I'm glad, that Megumi-dono is doing well."_

"'I'm'?" Megumi echoed. She gracefully rose to her feet with a slight frown to her brow, and then smiled, eyes sparkling like amber gems. She understood. And somehow, it suited her better that Himura Kenshin, as himself, cared rather than the awe inspiring King of Dreams.

"Sagara Sanosuke."

The samurai's spiky head jerked up upon hearing her voice. As he stretched out from his crouched position at the base of a supporting pillar, his brown eyes met hers. The strange woman stood at the entrance of the hallway, tall and proud as the very first time he saw her. Her face was surprisingly neutral, unmarred by signs of disdain, as was her voice. It couldn't have been more than an hour's time.

"What are you doing up?" he asked, the mask of his tenor mocking that of the soprano. "You could hardly breath or stand an hour ago." Sanosuke thought he caught a ghost of a smile to her full lips. Gratitude?

"You should have inquired as to what was wrong with me," she replied calmly. "It was nothing that a small dose of herbal medicine couldn't fix. I do have knowledge of these things." The last sentence was spoken with great pride of one's hard work and accomplishments.

_She's a doctor?!_ Sanosuke's dark brown eyes widened as a strange taste filled his mouth. Suspicions filled his head. Witchery? Deals with inhuman beings? Black magic? The possibilities of her digressions from the human society was endless. Sanosuke forcefully shook his head to rid himself of such thoughts and swallowed down the bitter taste upon his tongue.

_Don't be so quick to jump to conclusions,_ he told himself. A man can be a doctor; why can't a woman? Being a fellow soldier with Jou-chan certainly taught him that much. Kaoru was one of the best fighters in their squad, male or not. Sadly, few would have accepted her had she not cut her long hair and disguised herself as a man. Sanosuke's respect for this strange dark-haired beauty rose; perhaps he had underestimated her strength. Still, he knew absolutely nothing about this mysterious woman, and that never settled well with one easily suspicious as Sagara Sanosuke.

"Who are you?" he finally blurted out.

"Takani Megumi," she replied. Sanosuke just nodded, casting the goal of trying to figure out this woman aside. In time of expecting harsh insults and much inquiries to even get her first name, she gave him an immediate and clear answer instead.

Megumi continued briskly as she turned back to the room she had rested in, "Get ready to go outside, Sagara. We're going to town for my rounds." Sanosuke whirled from his prior direction towards his chosen room, and stared at where the doctor Takani had been.

_What_ did she say?

**_End of Scroll Five_**

Author's Corner:

Woop! Thanks you all so much for your reviews and support. Maybe I should start posting review answer thingies on mine too! Oo! I feel so special. Everyone is special. Whee!!!! Hugs for all! Go caffeine and sugar at midnight!

As for those Baku, I get most of my information from this book I absolutely love. "The Dream Hunters" from the Sandman series by Neil Gaiman and Yoshitaka Amano. It's not exactly the same, but I get a lot of the information from there. It's what got me thinking about the Meg/Sano story. And somehow, its scary how much my little fic is like the actual book itself. I didn't mean for it to turn out that way. TT

I only remembered bits and pieces of the Dream Hunters when I first started "Blessing" and when I rechecked it out from the library, "HOLY CRAP!!! PLAGERISM ALERT!!!" was the first thing that popped into my head. So now I'm trying to put new things in my ficcy. -

As for Megumi thinking that human was making her stupid, don't blame me (or her). She's just stressed. Poor girl.

I jump from one subject to the next, that's why it's so hard to write a flowing story for me. Sigh. I digress much. Until next time.

P.S. Thank you, thank you, and again thank you to _mushi-azn, JML, Eevee, Wistful-Eyes, and S/M! _You guys have really stuck with me, and I really appreciate it! __


	6. Scroll Six

Disclaimer: Sometimes less is better. Less words, more vibes….hummmm…mysterious voice I no own Kenshiiiiiiinnnnnn…..I not own Kennnshiiinnnnn……

A Blessing of the Cursed

a rurouni kenshin story

Scroll Six

The wave of humming voices washed over Sanosuke like the warm waters of a fresh bath. Half closing his eyes, he watched the veiled woman in front of him through his thick lashes as he took in a deep breath of air. Sanosuke could detect the smells of dozens of things, each a tribute the existence of life and others. How he had missed this bustle; the occasional yell of venders that overpowered the other noises, the wafting hints of foods, and so many faces. Just pure life.

Megumi simply moved forward like a modest queen, parting the surprisingly thick crowds as she exchanged short greetings with passerby. Her dark veil floated in the air with ethereal grace, supported by the wide straw hat she wore underneath. With her long thick hair done up in a proper bun, the silhouette that the naked eye could barely distinguish was that of a wise regal queen, closing in on her later years. Why she adopted such a disguise was still beyond him. Didn't women want to seem younger?

This seemed to be pure normality for her, however. She almost lazily walked to a small booth that looked to have seen better days, abandoned for quite a while by the looks of it. But the peeling paint and poor condition of the wood hardly seemed to faze Megumi, as she began to smoothly set out numerous jars of different herbs and medicines. She chatted amiably with a grateful sister, who couldn't seem to stop praising Megumi's skill at saving her sister every other sentence.

"I am eternally grateful to you, Megumi-san. I don't what I would have done if my sister had left so early on in her life!" she exclaimed, eyes shining happily. Megumi gently inclined her head in modest acceptance of her thanks. She brushed away dust from the table of the stall as she answered.

"You need not to thank me, I was only too glad to help. It your sister that was strong, I only encouraged the speed of her recovery." Sanosuke tried not to whip his head around and stare at the veiled Megumi. What the hell happened to the acrid remarks and snappy attitude? Not to mention, her voice was deepened to that of a demure elderly woman, her bowed head playing her disguise perfectly.

"By the way, Megumi-san, if I'm so rude in asking, who is this?" the middle-aged woman asked, just noticing the tall gangly man that stood at the medicine woman's side. Megumi turned to him, gliding slowly closer to his side. She gently took his hand between her two and raised her head to look at him. Her actions seemed almost…fond… Sanosuke just looked at where her eyes should be dumbly, keeping his face emotionless, wondering what the hell she was doing. He blatantly ignored the strange tingling of his skin that was left wherever her hands touched.

"This…" she said, turned to the other curious female, "is my beloved---" Sanosuke praised himself for showing no other signs of surprise than the tensing of his hand, which the soft white hands that encased his worn callused one responded with a sharp squeeze.

_'I'm of no relation to her!!!'_ Sanosuke mentally screamed.

"—son. The past three months of my absence, I had been visiting him. The return journey was hard, so my dear Shiro-" Sanosuke balked at the name "-returned with me. He's returning back home in a few days." The other woman laughed, chuckling about what a sweetie "Shiro" was. Megumi looked up at him, and Sanosuke felt cold sweat run down his face. He could almost see the smirk that curved her full lips. She reached up.

And pinched his cheek.

"You're just the sweetest little son a mother can have…" she cooed, hand not leaving his cheek. The other woman, to Sanosuke's extreme horror, joined in, chuckling about how the world needed more sons that respected their mother. After a short while, the other woman finished her squinty-eyed tirade and ended her small visit.

"Make you stop by some time by my restaurant, the Akabeko!" Tae called after her as she slow faded into the crowd. "And eternal thanks to you, Megumi-san, again!" With that, the middle-aged woman left. When Tae turned her back, Sanosuke's large hand firmly clasped around Megumi's slender wrist, detaching her fingers from his numbing cheek.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?!" he hissed from the corner of his mouth, the pair still appearing to passerby as a fond mother and loving son. She was unfazed by his angry inquiry, and deftly withdrew her wrist from his grasp. The fox turned back to the medicine stand, completing a painfully slow sale of a packet of herbs for headaches with a customer before answering.

"Do you realize where you are, Sagara Sanosuke?" she coolly returned, matching question for question. She made his name sound as a title that even the lowliest beggar would rather not bear.

"Why would that matter?" Sanosuke asked, crossing his arms and scowling at the shorter woman. She was hardly intimidated, as was the intended result, and flicked the stray hairs under her veil with haughty grace.

"There is something called loyalty to one's kingdom." She replied. "And if I am not mistaken, Aizu is currently at war, with Kyoto and Tokyo." Sanosuke paused, and then frowned deeply.

"We're not in Aizu."

"Good boy, maybe you're smarter than I first thought." The medicine woman patted his abused cheek as if she were petting a good dog. Sanosuke just growled, turning his gaze away from her.

"You know who I am," he gritted out in a low voice. "Why aren't you turning me in or something?" The young soldier was curious beyond description, despite his less than curious tone.

"If you leave armor out like that, it'll rust." Megumi said flippantly. After a long pause to ensure there were no prying ears, she continued almost reluctantly, as if she were unwilling to reveal such truth to any ear.

"Nobody's rarely what they seem. There is a reason why I happen to make my home near the border between the kingdoms of Aizu and Kyoto." Sanosuke pondered her statement, before finally nodding at her. The samurai had always prided himself with his uncanny ability to read when a person is sincere, so he'll believe her for now without prying further. The fox cocked her head fractionally to the side. She was smiling, shoulders lax without weights.

She returned to her stall, since people were beginning to gather into front of her stand. The medicine woman doled out her medicines with ease. With the low prices that she required, money quickly poured in. As with the love of the people and their laughter.

"Now Suzume-chan," she was saying to the small pigtailed girl in her lap. "Have you been listening to your grandpa?" The little girl nodded, a big smile on her face. Doctor Genzai, the plump old man that was her grandfather chuckled as he picked the herbs and medicines that he wished to purchase for the benefit of his practice. Megumi-san's herbal mixtures were top-notch, pure in content and made with obvious care. Any doctor, like himself, greatly appreciated a good poultice they can trust to work when they bind a wound.

{Note: Doctor Genzai and Megumi occupy different aspects of the doctoring business in my story. Doctor Genzai focuses more on physical injuries and diagnoses that enable him to give specific instructions. Megumi on the other hand, makes different medicines that Genzai can prescribe and she can make specific medicines for people that see her…do I make any sense….?}

"Bye-bye, Megumi-san!" the little pigtailed girl and the old doctor Genzai said as they left. More people followed after, and despite the long line, most of the waiting customers didn't seem irked by their wait.

Sanosuke watched her as she received every person with gentleness and open arms, patiently looking over those struck by sickness. Her concern was genuine, real for every person. No wonder the townspeople loved their medicine woman, Megumi-sama, so much. Her kind of doctor was rare; life was sacred to her. The samurai lifted an eyebrow at that revelation. Whatever kind of black magic she was using, it was for a good reason. Somehow, despite his suspicion of that branch of occupations, Sanosuke felt he could forgive her for it.

Finally, a temporary lull came to the steady flow of customers and Megumi leaned against the side of her stall with a tired sigh. A long silence followed, before she turned her head to study Sanosuke, who never left his position, leaning beside the stall with his arms crossed.

"Why are you still here?" she asked tiredly. It was already nearly mid-afternoon, the pair having spent most of the morning descending the mountain upon which Megumi's temple home resided. Sanosuke shrugged, before adding a small smile as well. A loud grumbling filled the silence to say in place of what Sanosuke didn't. With another small sigh, Megumi reached into her pocket and produced a fair amount of money. She extended it towards the surprised samurai, motioning for him to take it.

"Go buy us something to eat," Megumi commanded, her tired cloak now thrown away from her shoulders. Once again, she was a bossy snooty kistune. Sanosuke grinned and took the money as visions of plump chickens and delicious noodles danced in his head.

"Thanks, Megitsune!" he exclaimed, eyes alit like that of a child in a candy store. The other froze, apparently staring at him.

"Megistune?!" she echoed incredulously. The air seemed to crackle with her fury. Sanosuke just smiled good-heartedly; anyone who would give him so much money was a good good person, despite everything else.

"Lighten up, Kitsune!" the samurai said with a small chuckle. "If you were any stiffer, people might get the impression that you were dipped in starch when you were born!" With a happy wave, Sanosuke jauntily swaggered his way into the crowds, whistling a tune that seemed to swing in beat with the red ends of his bandanna. Megumi watched the strangely clad young man disappear, her perplexed look fortunately hidden by her veil.

"Baka tori-atama…" she murmured with a sniff as she turned to another customer, though the barbs were absent in her low tone.

It was beautiful day, where the bare heat of the sun was brushed away with a cool breeze from the mountains. Everyone that could be outside was outside, milling about the marketplace to chat with friends and shop. By the later hours of the autumn afternoon, most of the spirit kitsune's herbal wares were gone, along with a large accumulating list of specialized ones to be made for later days. Along with a fair amount of money, those who could not pay then by money paid with other things. Megumi had a small sack of rice, enough for perhaps a week. Two fish hung from a string attached to the stall post back by the medicine woman's elbow, away from the dusty ground.

Sanosuke looked forward to those fat juicy fish tonight, and he made his expectations well known with gusto as Megumi gathered her things, ready to close for the day. If they wished to make it home before the dark settled in, the pair needed to leave soon.

"Maybe you can fry 'em, extra oil and some of those weird herbs you have! I'll bet that'll taste good. Or maybe you can make some soup. Those onion lookin' things you have look like what those cooks use, that'll taste—"

Sanosuke managed to catch the string of raw fish moments before his face would have been assaulted with fishy slime. Moments later, Sanosuke discovered said slime was called slime for a reason. He cursed extensively under his breath as he fumbled to keep a hold on the slippery fish, his awkward dance greatly appreciated by passerby. When he managed to keep a firm hold on the fish, he grinned sheepishly at the crowd, eyebrow twitching at the whispers of what sweet and wonderful son "Shiro" was.

"Here, _Shiro-chan_," Megumi said as she also dumped the sack of grain and what remained of her wares into his arms. "Take this for kaa-chan." Sanosuke struggled to keep a straight face as he heard someone whisper, "Awww…he calls her kaa-chan…"

(-chan is a very cute honorific, as opposed to –san, which is more respectful)

"Kitsune…" he fumed.

"That's tonight's dinner, _Shiroi-chan_," Megumi purred sweetly. "I'll make sure to make something absolutely delicious for your help in carrying everything…" The young samurai stared at for a few seconds, before closing his eyes and shaking his head in exasperation in an attempt to hide the strange colors that burst in front of his eyes.

"I think that's everything," Megumi declared as she glanced at the once again empty stall. She lightly brushed the bits of trash under the stall to one corner with her foot, where it will be picked up by the street-cleaners the following morning. She looked around to check for any straggling customers that may need her aid, upon seeing none, she turned to Sanosuke.

"I think we can go back home now," she said with an unseen smile. Sanosuke just grumbled at her, dark eyes flashing with ire. He had realized just exactly what a load she had dumped into his arms, and he wasn't looking forward to carrying it all the way back the temple. Sanosuke opened his mouth to complain.

"I'm not some sort of slave!" he groused irritably. "Why can't you…" His voice died with surprise, eyes widening as they focused over Megumi's shoulder while his mouth remained partially open. Megumi whipped around to where his eyes gazed. The tall man in front of the stall simply nodded at them, face emotionless as he watched the medicine woman and the disguised Aizu samurai.

"Do you need something sir?" Megumi asked kindly, pretending to ignore Sanosuke's reaction. The said young man quickly removed his stare and replaced it with a mask similar to that of the tall man in front of them. His long raven bangs did little to hide the graceful angles of his sharp face, icy blue eyes studying them with shielded intensity.

"Yes," he said, his low voice softly piercing. "I am in need of herbs that can calm one to an easy sleep." Megumi nodded and briskly grabbed her bag of wares from Sanosuke's arms. She searched around loudly in it, fumbling with unusual awkwardness.

"Oh my," she finally intoned as she withdrew one jar. "It seems we have run out of water to brew your herbal tea…I shall have to borrow. And _Shiro-chan_, do make sure the kind sir is comfortable during the wait!" With that, Megumi quickly trotted away to a faraway stall. Sanosuke rolled his eyes with exaggeration of an unwilling child and sat in her place, depositing his armful to the side. The other man raised an eyebrow, cool blue eyes clearly amused.

"Shiro-chan?" he asked. Sanosuke growled.

"Don't ask, Ge-" the lanky samurai cut off his sentence upon the minute movement of his commanding general's head, a scarce inch to either side.

"Kuromori Genji," Aoshi Shinomori introduced himself. "A pleasure to properly meet the renowned Takani-san's son. I never did inform you of my last name the _last _time we ran into each other." He bowed elegantly. Sanosuke returned the favor.

"Takani Shirosuke," he replied, for the lack of a different family name. After a few counted seconds, he continued to add, "You have the looks of a traveler."

"Yes, I travel much. The mountains of Kyoto are treacherous, but rewarding. However, I intend to remain in this town for a while more to rest and restock my supplies before I continue." Sanosuke nodded, digesting the meanings veiled beneath the small talk. If he guessed right, General Shinomori was telling him to stay put for the time being, to try to gather information and prepare for a return to the army in the future.

"Ah. Doesn't the road get lonely at times, by yourself and no companion?" Sanosuke knew there was a slim chance that Aoshi could possibly know of any news of Jou-chan, but he had to try.

"Yes, it does. However, I have yet to find someone that could keep up with the pace I like to set." Sanosuke kept his disappointment well hidden.

"A pity. No traveler should be without a proper traveling companion." No sign of Kaoru. It was already nothing short of miracle that the General and himself were in the same town, both still in one piece. Last Sanosuke had remembered from that horribly embarrassing battle, the three remaining soldiers had split in three different directions. No one else had survived, the entire troop wiped out by a surprise attack that contained undefeatable odds.

"You boys got to know each other?" came Megumi's coy voice, breaking the silence that had settled over the two. Aoshi nodded again at the medicine woman, his silent thanks understood by the other. She handed him a small pot of steaming liquid.

"This should suffice for a few days. But if you run out, I'll be here every now and then, and I'll resupply you," she instructed like any other patient.

"Thank you, Takani-san. Sayonara and a good day, the both of you." 'Genji' bid farewell to 'Shiro' and his 'mother', and turned to leave. His trench coat fluttered the wind, moving as if it had life of its own as the tall traveler faded with the distance, the waning crowd of colors swirling around his figure.

"We need to go, Rooster head," Megumi said quietly. She wisely did not pry into the conversation held during her absence. Sanosuke growled again, but did dutifully pick up the previously discarded load. They exited the town, soon upon the lonely mountain road that lead to the temple.

"If you still want that fish for dinner we'll need firewood to be chopped when we get home." It felt strangely right to Sanosuke for her to refer to that dilapidated shack of a temple home, and it bothered him. Now safely out of the town's earshot, Sanosuke allowed himself to drop the role of the dutiful son and release his irritation.

"Quite bossing me around, Fox. You're not the one carrying everything!"

"You want me to carry it? Whatever to the whole big strong man thing you had going yesterday? Or are you too weak? Fine, give me everything, and you can go whine about something else!"

"Hardly that I can't carry it, it's just your nagging voice that's annoying!"

"Oh-ho! If you were truly strong, then you wouldn't be annoyed by such things!"

And so, the pair returned to the temple, along a path shielded by trees.

scroll six end

ShiroiMatsu: Sorry for a slow update. But now that it's summer, I'm looking forward to becoming a speed demon…(yeah right…). Review and tell me about any ideas you think can fit in this story, I'm open! As for the story itself, I'm trying to keep this think under 10 chapters, keeping the plot simpler and focusing more on Sano's and Megumi's relationship and their characters. But then I never was the character mushy gushy type to pycho-analyse everything. Sigh, I'm trying.


	7. Scroll Seven

Disclaimer: Ahem…

I happen to be very broke,

Which means I have no money.

Kenshin is not mine to own,

So please forgive this story…Erm, you can see why I prefer to write stories instead of poetry….

**Blessing of the Cursed **

_-a rurouni kenshin fanfic-_

**-Scroll Seven** -

"This is good, Megitsune!" Sanosuke exclaimed as he shoved more fish into his mouth. The elegant woman who sat across from him wrinkled her nose in disgust at the bits of food that sprayed from his mouth. The other ignored the slight expression and snatched a few more pieces into his bowl of rice.

"Rooster-head," Megumi finally declared, "If you would be so kind as to chew with your mouth closed, like I've been telling you to the last two weeks, I would greatly appreciate it." She furthered her point by placing a small piece of fish into her own mouth and chewing properly.

"If not?" the spiky-haired samurai challenged with a raised eyebrow. She could hardly hit him with another broomstick. The fox was hiding something, and she most likely knew it would only bring up questions as to her unnatural healing abilities if she had to heal him again.

Megumi faltered slightly, unknowingly thinking along the same lines as the annoying Tori-atama in front of her. However, she quickly composed herself and raised her nose in haughty disdain.

"I'll poison your rice."

Sanosuke coughed and stared incredulously at her. Megumi simply looked at him, her expression now as neutral as that of someone who was just commenting on the weather.

"I have an extensive knowledge of herbs and their uses. They can, along with the usual medical uses, be employed for natural laxatives, vomit-inducers, and of course 'putting a person out of his misery'. Doctors can be very merciful."

_Or completely merciless_, was the unspoken yet implied addition. Sanosuke shivered, and closed his mouth as he chewed.

--

Megumi lowered her head guiltily, hiding behind her curtain of hair. She hadn't meant to sound so serious and forbidding. Instead, her poor attempt at humor was taken as a true threat. And he did complement her cooking…

"Thanks," she muttered abruptly, not looking at the young man sitting across from her. His head shot up, brown eyes wide with confusion.

"Huh? What did I do?"

Megumi automatically lifted one eyebrow, before crossing her arms and replying.

"Think hard, Rooster. It couldn't have been more than a few minutes, unless you have the memory of a goldfish—"

"Oh that! It is good! We'll have to get more fish the next time we go to town, and maybe even beef!" Megumi sighed mentally as she tuned Sanosuke's words out, only listening to the surprisingly pleasant hum of his tenor voice. Again, he got the wrong idea. And she had to fix that.

"And after lunch, you're washing the dishes and polishing the statue of Buddha. I want to be able to see my reflection on that statue when you're done." With that said, Megumi put a final piece of fish into her mouth and stood up with her empty bowls. Sanosuke stared after her as she glided to the kitchen and set the bowls by a small tub of melted snow.

"Women," he growled finally. He gathered the remaining bowls and set to work on his chores reluctantly.

* * *

A polite knock resounded through the room. Sanosuke, sweaty from his taxing ministrations on the golden Buddha turned to open the door. Megumi was in her room with her herbs, making the new brews and mixtures for a future trip down the mountain the town.

Two women were revealed, both appearing to be in their early thirties. Their cheeks were flushed from the exertions of climbing a steep mountain path, but they held themselves with an unaffected regal grace. The taller of the two stepped forward primly, her geta clacking lightly on the wooden floor, and bowed.

"Good evening, young Shiro-san. We are here to visit and pay our respects to the lady Takani-san. I am Kuromori Chikyu." Kuromori-san had her dark hair done in a simple bun, but it was smooth and shone like polished obsidian. Her almond eyes were set in an eternal smile despite that her mouth was but a polite red line. The merry twinkle in her light grey eyes paired well with the deep crimson kimono she wore.

The other woman was just as exotic, though her beauty came from the masked emerald eyes and pale curve of her creamy cheeks. Her deep green kimono reminded Sanosuke of the evergreens that grew in the barren mountain space.

"And my name is Ichimatsu Midoriko."

"Oh," Sanosuke replied dumbly, settling into the role of the simple and honest son. "Good evening Kuromori-san. Good evening Ichimatsu-san." He bowed awkwardly and then shuffled out of the way for the two ladies to enter. Ichimatsu-san glided in after her companion, her swaying steps reminded the samurai even more of a tall pine tree in the breeze. The green kimono didn't help to divert such an image from the bystander's mind.

"Please make yerselves comfortable. I'll get Kaa-chan," Sanosuke told them after closing the door. He left them in the main room and plodded heavily to Megumi's closed door.

"Kaa-chan, we have guests," he called loudly with a slow knock. Quick shufflings were heard as Megumi got the message. Moments later, the door slid open to reveal an elderly medicine woman, her veiled hat upon her head. She greeted the two ladies with delighted greetings. After a few moments of exchanging pleasantries, Megumi turned back to Sanosuke.

"Shiro-chan, would you please go make some tea and tidy up for our dear guests from town?" Sanosuke nodded, a goofy smile upon his face and then turned down to the kitchen. If he wasn't mistaken, Megumi was telling him to hide all evidence of his connections to the Aizu army. Just in case.

Their voices carried well along the empty hallway. Sanosuke listened carefully as he set a pot of water on a small fire to boil, and then tossed some tea leaves into the brew. The three women talked of inane things; the best home remedies for a cold, how to deal with angry teenagers…etc.

Sanosuke soon tuned them out and returned to setting out an old tea set he found on a tray with the tea. After sneaking a few bites of leftover fish and rice, he strolled out with the tray and set it between the women.

"Thank you, Shiro-chan," Megumi told him. 'Shiro' nodded happily and left for his room.

"And Shiro-chan? You might want to wipe away that rice on your chin!" Megumi called after him. The other two women cracked smiles and hid them behind their teacups. Sanosuke just grumbled as he shut his door and methodically piled his armor into the chest where he had found his current clothes with as little noise as possible. Women existed to torture him.

On cue, the chattering women outside burst into soft laughter. Shaking his head, Sanosuke headed out of his hallway back to the other hallway, where the kitchen was. While crossing over through the main room, the three ladies took no notice of his passing. Megumi's back was turned to that hallway.

Sanosuke ignored them and turned into the hallway to lead to food. He passed Megumi's room, then paused and looked inside. Her door had been left partially open. No one would notice that he slipped in and looked at what Megitsune does most of the day in her room. None of the women out in the main room noticed when Sanosuke slipped in with a second's impulsive decision.

At first glance, her room was perfectly normal. The futon was perfectly folded, the tatami mat perfectly swept, and the room in general was perfectly neat and tidy. But that was just the first glance. Sanosuke turned his attention away from the rest of the room when he caught sight of the basket that Megumi always carried with her when she went outside. It was surprisingly new, despite that it should have been used for at least three months. As he bent closer, Sanosuke found three long strands of white hair, unusually soft and pure when he lifted the lid slightly. He ignored his first idea of where these hairs came from and turned to study the tall shelf full of little jars that the basket had rested by.

Each jar was different. As curious as he was, Sanosuke only noticed one jar. He had almost missed it with his first couple scans of the fox's inventory. Had he not been blankly staring at that area for several minutes as he considered his conscience in accordance to prying so, the sharp samurai would have missed it completely.

Sanosuke stepped closer to the shelf and pushed away the other obstructing jars to reveal a small plain jar with a small picture painted on the side. And then he stopped breathing.

The shoji door slid fully open.

* * *

Megumi waved her farewells to Kuromori-san and Ichimatsu-san as they exited and closed the door after them. Kuromori-san had been a perky woman, eyes bright and merry, whilst Ichimatsu-san kept her cool composure despite 'Shiro's' antics and funny situations Megumi made up at Sanosuke's expense. They hadn't stayed long, but Megumi felt as if they were already friends for years. When was the last time she had been able to talk so openly with another female? The two women had accepted her easily, telling her anecdotes of life down in the town. Megumi allowed herself to almost grin widely in glee as she turned from the door. She looked forward to their next promised visit.

Megumi happily returned where they had seated themselves, clearing all the leftover trash back onto the tray. Before she rose to her feet, the dark-haired fox-girl removed her veiled hat. Now if only they could stop thinking her as a decrepit old medicine woman, things would be perfect.

But Megumi knew she could never do that. For one thing, the townspeople would become suspicious that one so youthful as herself could have such an extensive knowledge of herbal medicine. Besides, a young woman and a young man ununited by marriage living together would be scandalous. She knew that Sanosuke wouldn't be staying too long at all. He was a soldier, and though he had never mentioned it, Megumi suspected that he had fled from a battle impossible to fight. With a home so close to the border, his sudden appearance and future disappearance would very likely bring about more suspicion without a proper and viable explanation. Somehow, just his safety alone was enough reason to keep her disguise, though Megumi couldn't figure out why for the life of her.

_Stupid Healer instincts…_she finally grumbled to herself.

Megumi gathered both hat and tray into her slender arms and trotted softly to the kitchen hallway. Upon passing her room, she decided to rid herself of that abominable hat first. Megumi slid open the door all the way with the hat and tray balanced on the other hand.

Her surprised cinnamon eyes met wide brown ones.

The tray went crashing onto the ground, the tea splattering everywhere. But it went unnoticed.

He _knew_.

She could see it in his wide eyes, that he at least had a very good idea what was going one. He probably hated her now, for lying to him, for being something that everyone feared for their strange powers, for "bad luck" her kind would bring. A strange pain exploded in her chest, compressing her tender heart in an unbearably tortuous way.

"You…" she gritted out over the pain. Sanosuke backed away from her fearfully. Megumi could scream; he was afraid of her, too. She clenched her fist to keep her hands from visibly trembling. He saw this small action, and wouldn't meet her eyes. A small corner of her clouded mind told Megumi she should be angry too, for she never gave him any reason to truly be suspicious of her that would cause him to fear for his own life. Yet, Sanosuke had betrayed her trust, and here he was, nosing around in her private room.

Megumi let the irrational rage wash over her, temporarily pushing her pain and betrayal to far dusty corners of her mind.

"YOU JERK!!" she screamed as she descended upon the shocked young man and slapped him with all her strength. The uncomfortable feeling in her chest didn't abate, still so suffocating and constricting. Deeming this not enough, she fisted the other hand and punched him hard in the jaw.

* * *

The tray she held dropped to the ground with a deafening crash, pottery and tea splattering everywhere.

Wide cinnamon eyes drilled into his brown ones.

She stared at him in disbelief for a few moments before narrowing her eyes menacingly. Sanosuke thought a flash of pain danced through her eyes, but he wasn't sure, as the anger that rolled from her slender body in waves was much more distracting. Her fists clenched. The samurai didn't dare to meet her eyes.

"…You…" she gritted out from between her teeth. She was _very_ upset. Very, very upset. Sanosuke backed away fearfully. Damn him and his curiosity.

"YOU JERK!!!" she finally screamed. Her hand followed the verbal lashing immediately with a much more painful one.

Sanosuke winced as her hand met his cheek with a loud crack. He forced his fighter's instinct to not retaliate; he deserved that one. She hadn't pried in his business, nor do anything of the sort that intended him harm. Her other hand came at his jaw with a dull crack usually produced when one's jaw was wrenched in an unnatural direction. He also deserved that one.

Sanosuke sat down on her futon with a heavy sigh as his hands closed around Megumi's wrists before she could hit him again, as much as he probably deserved them all. She struggled with great fervor, lashing out with angry kicks that stung wherever they landed. Each hit seemed to burrow further into his chest with the storming expression on her flushed oval face, only making her otherwise pathetic attempts more painful than the dullest sword.

"Megumi," he said softly, careful to force his low voice to nothing more than a monotone. "Please stop." She ceased her attacks at such intimate usage of her first name, but continued to tremble with ire, face hidden behind her thick curtain of hair. The young woman seemed so upset, almost too upset for all this to be just because some strange young man was caught snooping around in her room. Sanosuke opened his mouth to continue and apologize, but somehow, he couldn't.

_Damned pride…_

"You…left the door open…" he finally said, wincing at how lame he sounded.

_Great going, Sagara the Great!_ _She's really assuaged now, cuz it's her fault! What a way to make yourself sound so smart and cool in her eyes!_

Sanosuke just shook his head. Since when did anyone's opinion matter than his own?

His tight grip on Megumi's wrists slackened. Sanosuke stared at Megumi's lowered face.

_Aw damn, I really do care…_

-**End Scroll Seven**-

* * *

Author's Corner:

I'm very happy. Two nice juicy Sano/Meg moments _AND_ a little plot development (well sorta….). Some things will be explained next chapter (Megumi's little OOC tantrum attack for example). A dull sword would probably hurt more than a sharp one if enough strength was put behind it.

By the way:

_Kuromori_ – dark forest

_Chikyu_ - earth

_Ichimatsu_ – one pine

_Midori_ – green (I dunno what the _ko_ is for, it just sounded nice)

You'll recognize the names Kuromori Chikyu and Midori if you read my other story. Please do check it out.

Special thanks to JML, mushi-azn, Eevee, eriesalia, Drisowen, DrowAngel, LivingImpaired, and AnimeFreakPerson for reviewing chapter 6. Heartfelt thanks to all who have ever reviewed. Reviews make me feel fuzzy...(on the inside, I mean!)


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